


The Sea and The Rhythm

by raiseyourpinky



Series: Onions Verse [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, M/M, Sequel, Wedding Planning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-30
Updated: 2013-11-30
Packaged: 2018-01-03 00:46:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 31,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1063669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raiseyourpinky/pseuds/raiseyourpinky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel has a week to finish planning his wedding with Dean. I mean, what the hell could go wrong? (Sequel to "Onions")</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Saturday

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't already, you might want to read [Onions](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1059079/chapters/2122275) before starting this. Also, I apologize for the over abundance of fluff. It was truly uncalled for.

SATURDAY

(11:24am)

The woods were perfectly still, and only the occasional faint sounds of birds still chirping were heard; the atmosphere was dry yet somehow sweet—like waking up after a much needed nap. Despite the freezing weather, Cas felt warmth underneath him, surrounding him, protecting him. The clouds above him seemed menacing, warning him of the rain heading their way.

Cas pressed his arms tighter around Dean's shoulders, resting his head besides Dean's. With his back against Cas' chest, Dean inhaled a deep peaceful breath in response. Cas rubbed his hands playfully over Dean's belly as he heard and felt the growl emitting from it.

Cas chuckled. "Someone's hungry."

"Damn right," Dean said. "I haven't eaten since breakfast."

"That was less than two hours ago," Cas muttered, then he softly bit onto Dean's neck, patiently smoothing it out with a tender kiss.

Dean sighed, looking ahead at the woods in awe. Cas felt a sudden satisfaction because it had been his idea to head out here after breakfast, something he had to fight over with Dean. "We're actually doing this. We're getting married. In  _fucking_  Canada. Hell, if an angel had fallen from heaven a year ago and told me this, I probably wouldn't have believed him."

Cas tilted his head. "So you're just assuming the angel would be a man?"

Dean escaped from Castiel's arms around him in order to turn and face him. "Hey, don't question my fantasies. One thing's for sure, when I think of angels, I don't want them all busty with glittery wings and a furry halo. Well, on second thought..." Dean trailed off with a smirk.

Cas narrowed his eyes, silently letting Dean know he was in dangerous territory.

Dean chuckled, hanging an arm around Castiel's shoulders. "You know you're the only angel in my eyes,  _sugarplum_."

Cas rolled his eyes. "You should find better ways to tease me than by being this sappy. When will you finally tire of using those ridiculous pet names, anyway?"

Dean pressed a soft kiss on Castiel's temple. "What are you talking about,  _sweetie pie_?"

"You're an embarrassment," Cas said, playfully shoving Dean away.

Dean laughed and pulled him closer. "But you are my  _Chocolate-chip_ , and my  _pudding_ , and my  _banana-split sundae_. Damn, I am seriously hungry now."

"If you stop mocking me I will personally feed you," Cas offered.

Dean grinned, removing his arm and slapping Castiel's ass. "Fine, no more stupid pet names."

Cas smiled as he turned to walk back to their rental.

"Wait for me,  _little angel_ ," Dean called behind him.

Cas shook his head, chewing off his growing smile. He hated to admit that this one was not so absurd.

***

(12:45pm)

"So, let me get this straight," Sam said. "You want me to go cake-testing with Cas?"

Dean nodded hurriedly. "What part of that don't you understand?"

Cas felt the sudden confusion in the air and cleared his throat. "Sam, your brother, as you very well know, is more inclined to other desserts—such as pie. He insists that if anyone should help me pick out our wedding cake, it should be you."

Sam made one of those, what Dean would call a,  _bitchface_. "Come on, Dean. We're in Canada. I brought Jess along. Don't you think I have other plans besides being your wedding servant?"

"You ungrateful little bitch," Dean muttered. "I changed your diapers. Well, it was one time, but it was not number one, or two. That should tell you something."

"Oh God, Dean," Sam said, disgusted.

Cas stepped forth once again, sending a smile that would hopefully settle the dispute between the brothers. "Actually, Sam, I was also hoping Jess could accompany Dean in picking out the flowers, seeing as how he will have nothing else to do."

Sam sighed, defeated. "Alright, alright, but I'm doing this for you, Cas."

"Hey, whatever lets you sleep at night," Dean said, teasingly.

Sam sent another bitchface to Dean before leaving the room.

Cas turned to Dean, letting out a deep breath. "Please don't pick out a cactus to try to make a point. I'm putting all my faith in Jessica, and you should listen to her opinion."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "You got something going on with Jess that Sam and I should know about?"

Cas rolled his eyes yet again. It was as if Dean could set them off like fireworks. "I believe her taste is admirable. She did choose the sexier brother."

Dean's mouth opened and closed, his eyes were wide with shock. And with that, Cas abandoned Dean in their luxurious hotel room, containing his laughter till he made it to the elevator.

***

(1:02pm)

Cas found Chuck and Jo in the hotel lobby. It was always pleasant seeing all of Dean's friends, whom he now considered his friends too, under one roof and for the same purpose: to attend Dean and his wedding. And then he had the abrupt urge to pinch himself, thinking again he was merely dreaming.

"Hey, Cas," Chuck approached him, holding Jo's hand. "Where's Dean?"

Cas chuckled, still having a little bit of amusement left in him. "I left him speechless upstairs."

Chuck and Jo shared a knowing look and Jo winked at Cas.

Castiel shot an alarming look at their misunderstanding. "No, no, no. It's nothing like that. I just told him something funny."

Chuck smiled as Jo tied her arm around his, pulling him closer. "Well, I will leave you to your madness. Listen, if there's anything we can help you with, we'd be more than happy to."

Cas' grin was warm and sincere. He'd always been rather fond of Chuck Shirley.  _Such a nice guy_. "You both just go on out and tour the city. Vancouver is beautiful. I'm so glad the first time I came here I didn't have a wedding to plan within a week."

Jo placed a hand on Cas' arm, giving him a sympathetic look. "And I happen to know first-hand what a handful the eldest Winchester can be. If he bothers you too much, throw him our way. We'll keep him busy."

Castiel pondered that, and then smiled some more. He wouldn't dream of getting away from Dean, even in his worst. "I'm sure that won't be necessary, but thanks nonetheless for your offer, Jo."

"Alright, well, let's get going, hon," Chuck said. "Good luck, Cas,"

He waved the couple goodbye and pulled out his cell phone from his pocket. Dean had taught him how to work it. It was honestly embarrassing not knowing how to make such a small apparatus function in its full capacity. His fellow doctor friends were mostly fifty year olds, though, so they didn't make him feel left out. It was when he was around Dean's friends, such young people with eyes glued to their crotch as they texted, that he realized he had to learn immediately.

But sometimes, Cas simply preferred to call people. After dialing Jessica, he waited on a couch in the lobby.

"Hi, Cas," she answered. "I can't believe you want me to pick out the flowers with Dean. I will not disappoint, I promise."

Cas snickered into his phone. Jessica had become one of his closest friends. He'd decided no one would be better than her as a maid of honor, for both grooms, of course. "Jessica, I feel entirely at ease in your hands. You do not have to promise me anything."

She squealed loudly into the phone, and Cas had to pull it away for a second. "I know everything about you, so it won't be hard to pick the right things, and I can't wait to spend the day with Dean. Maybe we could all go to dinner afterwards."

"That sounds lovely," Cas contemplated. "Sam and I could meet up with you both back here after we decide on a cake. I miss Vancouver."

"Of course," Jess said. "I can't wait. Oh, Sam says he's on his way to the lobby right now. Should I meet Dean in your room?"

Cas was about to say yes to Jess until he noticed the curious man much too similar to Dean approaching the hotel bar. The ass was fitting to the face, as soon as Dean turned around. "No, he's right here in the lobby. Jess, I have to go." Cas shut his phone and stood up, deciding on whether he should wait and see what Dean was trying to do, or if he should go up to him and confront him the good old fashioned way.

When he noticed Dean sitting down on one of the stools there and talking to the bartender, he opted for the latter. Cas made his way angrily, but more than that, disappointed, and he took the open stool next to Dean.

"It's not even two o'clock, Dean," Cas said, dissappointed. "And you decided to start drinking again?"

Dean turned around, glaring at him. "Cas, do you really not trust me?  _At all?_ "

In that moment, the bartender placed, what was evidently an innocent soda, in front of Dean. Cas eyed the drink momentarily before frowning apologetically at Dean. "I trust you."

Dean took a sip of his drink and huffed. "Yeah, right."

"Dean, I'm marrying you this Saturday. Doesn't that tell you anything?"

"Yeah, tells me a lot. Tells me that you have shitty taste 'cause you're marrying  _me_."

Cas stared at Dean. "You're an idiot."

"You just keep the insults coming, don't you?"

"Come on, Dean," Cas said. "Are you honestly upset over that joke?"

Dean snorted, taking another sip of the soda. "I'm just. I keep thinking, wondering how the hell this is happening. How did you and I end up in a totally different country, with our closest friends and family? How did we decide to plan our wedding in a single week, just like that? How did you accept my proposal, when you're a hot doctor, and I was just a pizza man fortunate enough to deliver that first onion pizza?"

Cas gulped, unable to comprehend Dean's reasoning. If anyone should feel undeserving, it should be him. He placed a hand firmly on Dean's shoulder, turning him so that Dean could look him straight in his eyes. "I'm marrying you in six days because I absolutely love you. For everything you've been, and what you are, and what you will be until death do us part." He shrugged. "It's simple, really."

Dean showed a hint of a smile on his lips, leaning in and placing a chaste kiss on Castiel's lips. "I didn't think getting married would get me this jittery."

"It'll pass," Cas assured, kissing him again, this time allowing his lips to linger against Dean's, until they heard Sam and Jess mumbling to each other.

"Better save it for the honeymoon, guys," Sam said.

Jess grinned. "We need to get a move on things today. I want to finish early so we can get to the real fun stuff."

"Take care of her, Dean," Sam warned, and then he turned to Jess carefully, softening his face and giving her his brightest smile. "I need you to text me if you can't find your way or if you need anything, or if you just miss me."

Dean made a gagging sound. "You two are so disturbing. Just go," Dean urged, grabbing Jess.

"Dean," Cas said, frowning. "You're not going to tell Sam to take care of me?"

Dean raised an eyebrow. "Why should I? You're a big boy. Besides, I'm sure you love the company."

Cas narrowed his eyes. "You are so cold."

Dean shrugged, smirking. "Sucks for you,  _darlin'_."

***

(2:24pm)

"Why don't we make a pros and cons list, Sam?" Cas suggested, staring at the colorful pastries laid out in front of him.

Sam snorted. "Do you really think that would help? I mean, what would you even write for vanilla? Pros: Tastes good, is smooth. Cons: Sam doesn't think it tastes good."

"You're right. I didn't know we would disagree on everything. What about the red velvet? You sort of second-guessed your disgust."

"Look, man, this is your wedding. Get the cake you want."

Cas frowned. "No, Sam. I want to make sure you like it, too. I'd like to please at least one Winchester." He made a mental note on other ways he could please Dean without forcing cake down his throat.

"Well, maybe the almond one? I mean, it's no chocolate, but it's something."

Cas glanced at the almond cake and took another bite. Nope. It didn't taste any better the second time. "That flavor should  _not_  exist."

Sam looked over at the one cake they both had enjoyed, but neither had made an attempt to suggest it. "That Italian rum cake was amazing. Mind if I finish it, Cas?"

Castiel pushed the plate towards Sam. "It's not the same in cake form, you know. Maybe it wouldn't have any effect on him."

"I don't know, Cas. I feel like I shouldn't even be eating this. It's pretty heavy."

Cas could sit here and debate the flavor of his wedding cake with Sam for the entire day, or he could say "screw it!" and do whatever the fuck he wanted. And so he did. "Sam," he said suddenly. "Let's go. We're getting some pie."

Sam picked up his plate and continued eating from it as he was being dragged away.

***

(4:08pm)

Cas and Sam stood outside of the small bakery with a big purple sign that read "Dick's Cakes and Pies" which Cas considered would be appropriate for the occasion. After ordering fourteen pies in assorted flavors—which Sam seemed a bit hesitant about, but Cas knew Dean would not allow for leftovers—they shared a long glance at each other, and Cas checked his watch.

"Sam, I know this isn't how you wished to spend your first day in Vancouver, but I would really appreciate it if you accompanied me into this restaurant, which I'm hoping will agree to cater for my wedding."

Sam grinned, sincerely. "You know I don't mind helping out. That's what I'm here for. It's just my job as the young brother to annoy the crap out of Dean." Sam chuckled to himself, but then froze and quickly added, "Don't tell him I said that."

Castiel regarded him for a second with a smile. "You have nothing to worry about. Your secret's safe with me."

"Alright, so what's the place? Something big and fancy, I suppose."

"Lupo Restaurant & Vinoteca," Cas said. "It's an Italian place." Cas looked away, blushing at the sudden memories reemerging. "Dean really enjoys Italian food."

Sam gave him a wary look, and then sighed. "Let's get going then. We're going to have to do some sucking up to have anyone cater a wedding for this Saturday."

***

(4:30pm)

"You  _have_  got to work something out with me," Castiel begged the owner of Lupo.

The nearly bald-headed man, dressed in a suit and tie, smiled with the cheapest grin he could manage. "We don't cater for weddings with less than a six-month-in-advance notice. No exceptions."

Cas looked over at Sam, silently asking him to pitch in with one of his puppy-dog looks that could melt the president to his knees.

Sam sighed, reluctantly, understanding the unspoken message, and walked in front of Cas. "Look, man—"

"Uh, Zachariah," he corrected firmly.

Sam inhaled deeply, searching for his next words. "Zachariah, Cas and I are aware of your policies, but this is a particularly small wedding. We're not looking for a huge meal. Just a simple Italian meal for fifty people. Money is not an issue, trust me."

Zachariah's false expression didn't change at that. He nodded once after Sam finished talking, and then turned to Cas to say a final "No" before walking away.

Castiel frowned, looking to Sam for some sort of comfort. "Dean would have really liked the food from this stupid place."

Sam smiled sadly at Cas, and then suddenly chuckled. "Well, with one tradition already broken, why don't you break another?"

"What do you mean?" Cas asked, confused.

"I saw this burger shop a few blocks from here. How about we give the wedding guests the option of beef or chicken on wheat or white buns?"

Cas shook his head, and sighed. "Why the hell not?"

***

(5:05pm)

"Sam, I'm nervous," Cas muttered from the booth where he sat next to Dean's ginormous little brother. His closeness was a comfort in this situation.

"Don't worry, man," Sam soothed. "We're not going to have such a hard time convincing the owner of this joint to serve at your wedding."

Cas nodded, staring firmly ahead at the empty booth in front of him. "If all else fails, just throw your puppy-dog eyes at whoever we're waiting for, alright?"

Sam snorted. "I'm going to have to start charging for those. I told you, I don't plan on my face looking adorable like that. It's nature!"

Cas turned to Sam, snickering. "Thanks."

"Glad I could help. C'mon, just be confident."

"I don't like rejection," Cas admitted. "Twice in a row."

"Cas—" Sam started, but the short man who popped in the booth in front of them shut him up.

He was much too small, Cas thought, and he looked nothing at all like a boss, or manager, or owner of anything other than maybe a thrift store. The man wore an overly big and bulky gray hooded jacket, and faded blue jeans. His face showed no sign of a morning shave and his hair looked tangled and recently slept on. But he did look harmless and rather friendly, especially with his bright smile.

"Welcome to Levi Burger House," he said. "My name's Andy Gallagher. I heard you wanted to speak to me. I'd lie and say I was in a meeting or some shit like that, but I was actually just napping in the back of my van. It's pretty cozy in there, if you guys ever need a place to nap in."

Cas widened his eyes in surprise, but found himself completely relaxed. "Are you the manager?"

Andy shook his head, still smiling. "I received this fine fast food restaurant after my grandpa passed away. It's all I have to my name, besides my van. I guess you could say I'm the owner."

"You  _guess_?" Sam asked, incredulous. "Man, what are you doing still sleeping in a van? You must be making good money. This place is packed."

Andy shrugged. "Like I said, it's cozy in there. I just installed new speakers. And I bought a new bong. It's been a good month."

Cas cleared his throat, shifting in his seat. "Well, I will cut to the chase, Mr. Gallagher."

"Please," he interrupted. "Call me Andy."

"Andy, I'm getting married on Saturday. This Saturday, to be exact. You see, my fiancé and I barely flew into Vancouver late last night and I've got the rest of this week to finish planning my wedding. I've officially ran out of places to cater, and I know it's going to sound pretty strange of me to ask this of you, but would you cater for my wedding?"

Andy grimaced, narrowing his eyes. "Are you high, man?"

Cas looked over to Sam—nervous once again—who took the hint and spoke in his behalf.

"I know this is not a typical request," Sam said, running a hand through his lengthy locks of hair. "But we would be entirely grateful if you accepted."

Andy chuckled. "You actually want to serve  _my_  burgers at your wedding? That's awesome!"

"Really?" Cas asked.

Dude, it's on," Andy said. "I'm going to get some of my employees in fancy costumes to serve the food, too. I'll even find some fine china for you, man. What else? Um, salads! Yeah, we can serve salads before the burgers. Do you want double or triple stackers? We also have the crispiest chicken sandwiches in the city. Sodas, we have RC, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, Root Beer, and Fanta. You gotta love Fanta. We'll make it so good, everyone's going to come rushing into my joint after your wedding."

Cas shared a look with Sam, and turned back to Andy. "Thank you. So much. Honestly, you've made me feel so much better about this."

"Speaking of joints," Andy mumbled, pulling out a small roll from his pants. "I'm going to take this outside. I'll be back in five so we can finish up, my friend."

***

(6:37pm)

"Did you get everything done?" Cas asked Dean first, but then turned to Jessica for the response he was interested in.

Jessica smiled and nodded. "You're all set in the flower arrangement department. You really don't have to stress out so much over this. It's a small wedding after all. You will be fine."

"Come on, guys," Dean said. "This isn't just Cas' wedding. It's mine, too. Doesn't anybody care if I'm stressed out over this?"

"Don't be such a baby, Dean," Sam mumbled, and as obvious as it was to anyone what was forthcoming, that punch in his arm from Dean really seemed to sting the younger brother.

Dean sighed, seeming more than satisfied. "Everyone ready to go? I'm starving!"

"When  _aren't_ you?" Cas wondered. Dean stared at him as Cas stared back defiantly. Cas blinked before Dean shoved him against the car and crushed their lips together, locking his hands against the tall windows and pressing his torso against his, hard enough to make him gasp. On top of that the deepness of the kiss left them both breathless once Dean pulled away. After Cas regained all his senses, he managed to spit out a question that sounded more like an accusation. "Were you trying to shut me up?"

Dean raised an eyebrow, cocky as usual. "If your legs are tingly, then my job here is done."

Cas tried to fix his composure, standing up firmer, taking in a rough breath. "Well, you might need to try harder next time. I feel just fine." Sam and Jessica were already inside their rental, and Cas was having a difficult time trying to remember their last names.

Dean chuckled, smugly. "Yeah, okay. Challenge accepted."

Cas nodded once, trying not to think of what Dean meant by that at the moment, and then he stumbled inside the car. He decided to sit next to Jessica in the backseat to discuss the remaining wedding preparations in need to be done. Meanwhile, Dean and Sam appeared to have made-up as they sang along to Ozzy Osbourne on the radio.

***

(9:47pm)

Cas got into bed in his pajamas, and picked up his worn copy of  _Where The Heart Is,_ which was his favorite book up to date. Dean was already in bed watching TV, in his skintight black boxers.

"Mind if I leave it on?" Dean asked, eyeing the book in Cas' hand.

Cas looked up at the flat screen hanging on their bedroom wall. Dean was watching reruns of The Office. Cas turned to Dean, smiling. "I don't mind it."

Dean smiled back, returning his attention to the screen.

Cas read quietly for a while, pausing only to look up every time Dean chuckled. After realizing his focus would continue being compromised, he put the book down and snuggled halfway under the covers, closer to Dean.

Dean leaned over Cas to turn off the lamp on his side and he scooted closer to Cas as well, leaving no empty space as they both lied on their backs, side by side. Cas draped an arm over Dean's bare stomach, and he shifted to his side, facing Dean's amused expression due to the show.

Cas watched Dean, and he could still see every freckle on his face lit only by the light from the TV. Dean looked so relaxed, so comfortable, so absolutely content at this moment, and Cas memorized his expression, knowing it wasn't a usual look on Dean. He only ever saw that expression on his fiancé whenever they were alone, in bed, together. "I love you," Cas whispered, suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling.

Dean smiled, finally turning to Cas. Dean was so used to Cas simply gazing at him, he didn't even question the intensity or length of Cas' eyes watching him. "I love you, Cas."

Cas kissed Dean's shoulder before resting his cheek there. Dean kissed his head, wrapping one of his arms around Cas, pulling him closer. Cas closed his eyes, feeling himself float away with tranquility and utter bliss. He breathed deeply, and it was so easy compared to the time he spent without Dean, thinking he was being smart about his decision-making. Cas hated himself for ever thinking he could live his life without this man next to him, without the person that taught him how to love so desperately and completely.

Dean ran his other hand through Cas' hair, kissing his head again, and Cas smiled when he felt Dean's body shake with laughter. Dean lowered his hand to cup Cas' cheek, running his thumb softly against it. Cas looked up at Dean, and Dean leaned down to kiss him. Cas breathed inside Dean's mouth, his fluttering close. Dean gave him a kiss after another, unhurriedly, holding Cas' face carefully, as if he were a delicate piece of art.

"Goodnight, Dean," Cas whispered against Dean's lips, setting his cheek back on his shoulder. It was better than a pillow.

Dean turned off the TV before he pulled the covers up to Cas' neck, squeezing him tighter against him and then loosening the grip. It was his usual routine before going to sleep. "Goodnight, Cas."


	2. Sunday

SUNDAY

(7:11am)

"Caaaaaaaaas! Caaas.  _Cas_. Cas? Cas,  _baby_. CAS!"

Cas stumbled out of the bathroom, towel hanging on his hips. "What is it? What's going on? Is everything alright?" Cas looked around the room, taking a second to scan Dean's body. Once he noticed he was still in one piece, he sent Dean his best infuriated glare—the one that promised that if it were in his power, he would smite him without a hesitation.

Dean grimaced, rubbing his half-lidded eyes. "Why did you wake up so early? It's cold in bed without you."

"It's fucking cold under this towel," Cas said. "Go back to sleep. I have to shower and get ready. There are too many things that need taking care of today."

Dean grunted. "Fine. I get it." He shuffled out of the bed and approached a crabby Cas. "Make room for me in the shower. Just gonna take a piss real quick."

Cas furrowed his eyebrows. "Don't leave the seat up."

Dean leaned in, grinning smoothly. No matter how sleepy Dean looked, he still looked painfully beautiful. "You need me to sweeten up your day?"

"Dean, no," Cas said, pushing him away. "Quit playing around. If you're not done in fifteen seconds I'm showering in Sam's room."

Dean shrugged. "Your loss,  _sweetheart_."

"Fifteen, fourteen," Cas counted, impatiently.

Dean groaned and dropped his shoulders, walking desperately slow into the bathroom.

***

(9:13am)

Cas headed off to visit the hotel's ballroom, which he'd rented for the reception.

Dean had given him all authority over the planning of the wedding. When Cas realized it had been months and they hadn't advanced at all on the wedding planning because he had work and Dean had work and college, he gathered Dean and Dean's whole family, friends, and Balthazar—but Balthazar never showed up—at his house to tell them they were to fly to Canada with them during Dean's spring break for their wedding, which he would finish planning during that single week.

This had also been a surprise to Dean, for he'd doubted that: first, his family would agree to dig into their saving for such an impromptu vacation, and second, because no one in their right mind plans a wedding in a week. But Castiel had glanced at him and kissed him tenderly in front of everyone and Dean had no other words to speak.

Mostly everyone had agreed to join them in their adventure. Of course, not everyone could make it the entire week, so they were expected to arrive later on in the week.

Castiel had considered calling his parents. They were probably visiting Egypt for their third time around this time a year. He'd thought about informing them that their only son, who'd follow through on most of their wishes, was getting married to someone he genuinely loved. Then he stopped thinking about it, because that could never turn out okay.

Cas wasn't stupid, though, he knew he had to take care of some things before he even flew to Canada. So, he'd called the Western hotel and reserved the ballroom and a block of rooms. The wedding was going to be on March 16th, which left Dean enough time to return to his classes on the Monday after the wedding (madness).

Dean had been working overtime at his dad's auto shop & plumbing. Cas had been proud of Dean for helping out his dad when he'd desperately needed a mechanic and Dean was getting pretty sick of his job at the mall. Besides, it was only temporary while he got his degree. Dean wanted to pay for half of the wedding, and Cas didn't know how to tell him that it wouldn't be necessary for him to work so much while dealing with school, but Dean seemed to be handling it well.

After checking out the ballroom, Cas went to the Queen Elizabeth park. He remembered the first time he came to Vancouver and walked around this park by himself, thinking that if he were ever to get married, it would be here.

He tried to ignore the small thought in the back of his mind that reminded him he never considered marrying Anna in this place. With her, he always imagined a simple chapel in town.

Dean, though, he fit perfectly in his every dream.

***

(11:45am)

"Name's Bradbury. Charlie Bradbury."

Cas studied the redheaded girl, filled with obvious charisma, for a short second before shaking her hand. "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I really like you."

Charlie smiled from east to west. "How badly do you want my business? Keep talking to me pretty and we have a deal."

Cas laughed, taking a seat across her at her small photography studio. "My name's Castiel Novak. You see, I'm getting married this Saturday. And no, I'm not kidding. I could sit here and give you a hundred explanations for the rush of my wedding, or we could talk prices and get everything set."

Charlie whistled before leaning back against her office chair and spinning around in it. "So, who's the lucky guy?" She came to a full stop to wait for his answer.

"I never said I was marrying a guy," Cas said, tilting his face to the side, curiously.

"You look like a bird when you do that, you know" Charlie pointed out, smiling again. "And I guess you could say it was just my intuition. I am right, aren't I?"

Castiel nodded, clearing his throat. "His name is Dean Winchester."

Charlie twirled again in her chair, all the while throwing questions at Cas. "How long have you guys been together? Who proposed to whom? Are you having an indoor or outdoor wedding? Do you also need video?" And with that, she stopped spinning.

Cas grinned tentatively. "Does that mean we have a deal?"

"Yes, sir, we have a deal," Charlie confirmed, picking up her camera from her desk and snapping a picture of Cas. "This one's on me."

***

(1:38pm)

Castiel had found out about Rosen's Wedding Decorations during one of his many google searches. The reviews were fairly good, and he desperately wanted to get this over with so that he could get back to Dean. Oh, and also because his wedding was in less than a week.

He stepped into the local store, looking up as the silver bell announced his entrance. He smiled to himself when he remembered Dean's repeated words that begged him to wear one of those so that he wouldn't sneak up behind him.

"Hey," a tiny dirty-blond woman in a pant suit skipped over to him, carrying a thick binder and a pen. "Good afternoon. How may I help you?"

Cas looked around the place, realizing there was no one else in the store with them. He took this in as a good thing. He looked back at the woman and took a deep breath, bracing himself. "My wedding is this Saturday. I think I need your help."

The woman opened her mouth for a second or two, and then shut it, forming a small smile and extending her hand. "I'm Becky Rosen. And I can already tell you that this won't be easy, but I'm positive we can do it."

Castiel grinned back at her, shaking her hand. "Good. We're on the same page."

Becky showed him catalog after catalog, explaining every option of every design of every brand of every color and theme. He felt mentally fatigued after the last catalog he skimmed through.

"You don't seem to be so interested in this," Becky said, frowning.

Cas sighed. "I don't like doing this alone. Decision-making has never been my forte."

"Well, I'm sure your fiancé trusts you enough to let you pick out everything on your own."

"He doesn't like weddings," Castiel said, too fast, evading her eyes.

Becky moved in front of Cas' view. She was smiling. "You're marrying another guy? That is so cute. I write about this all the time."

Cas raised an eyebrow. "Do you?"

Becky nodded. " _All the time_. Don't you ever just watch a show filled with male characters that have so much sexual tension and chemistry between them and just picture them getting it on? The only reasonable thing to do with that is to channel it into writing."

Castiel chuckled. "Do you write gay porn, Becky?"

Becky's eyes widened and her blood quickly rushed to her face. "Maybe. Hey, don't judge me. I'm not hurting anyone. It relaxes me! Why are you smiling like that?"

"Alright," Castiel breathed, his face becoming serious. "You need to help me choose because I get overwhelmed when I have too many options."

Becky pulled her chair closer to his, taking the catalogs from Cas and placing them on her lap. "Let's start with the centerpieces."

Cas nodded.

"You do know you'll have to pay extra for the two day delivery so that it gets here on time, right?"

"I can cover that, yes."

Becky leaned in awkwardly and hugged him. "You're the best gay man I've ever instantly loved."

***

(3:47pm)

Castiel waited impatiently at a coffee shop, cautiously drinking his cup of tea. He checked his watch one last time before Ellen, Jo and seconds later, Chuck—nearly tripping over the flat surface—showed up. Cas smiled widely at them, finally breathing and relaxing.

"Sorry, Cas," Ellen said quickly, taking a seat across him. "We would have been here sooner if it weren't for these two."

Jo gasped. "No, don't look at me. Chuck couldn't find his right sneaker. He made me look everywhere."

Chuck sighed. "It was Sam. He took it. He thought it would be funny because I panic when I can't find things."

"Basically we're late because Chuck lost his shoe," Jo concluded.

Cas raised an eyebrow. "My condolences, Chuck. May I begin now?"

"Yes," Chuck assured, running a hand through his shaggy hair. "Crap, I forgot to put conditioner on this morning."

"I'm going to need a cup of coffee," Ellen said, getting up. "Anybody need anything?"

"No, we're good," Jo said, giving Cas her complete attention. "You probably have a few minutes before you're interrupted again, so  _go!_ "

Cas nodded, unscrambling his anxious thoughts. "I'm going to need help with the decorations of the park in which the ceremony will be held and the ballroom for the reception. I already picked out the decorations. Becky Rosen will have her people set everything up on Saturday morning, but I desperately need an extra set of eyes. I can't be there to tell her where to place things. I don't know who else to go to and Dean's parents arrive tomorrow. I'm sorry, I know this is probably too much to ask of you two, but I would very much appreciate it."

Both Chuck and Jo gave a simultaneously agreement, and Cas felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders.

"I was so nervous because I didn't know how to ask this of you," Cas said. "And I know the last thing you want to do while you're in Canada is plan my wedding, but—"

Jo scoffed. "Are you kidding? I've been dying for you to include me in your wedding planning committee. That's all I've been talking about. Chuck is my witness."

"It's true," he said solemnly. "She can finally shut up about it."

Jo glared at Chuck. "You're this close to not getting lucky tonight, worm."

"I'm having a really bad day, okay? Writing is hard. I couldn't come up with the next chapter of my book, even though I keep having these characters so clear in my mind."

Cas sent Chuck a sympathetic glance.

"Anyone have some tequila with them?" Ellen asked, returning to the table with a cup of coffee. "I need to spice up my day."

"Cas put me in the wedding planning committee," Jo announced cheerily.

" _Hallelujah!_  sing the angels above," Ellen mocked her. "Now pass the sugar."

***

(5:34pm)

"Dean, how is your…whatever you said you had to do with Sam today, going?" Cas mumbled into his phone, heading down the busy streets of Vancouver.

Dean snickered humorlessly. "It's going, I'll tell you that much."

Cas grunted. "I wish you could be here with me. I've had the longest day."

"I know, baby," Dean said, apologetically. "Tell you what, from now on I'll take care of this at night so I can be there and suffer with you during the day."

Cas took a deep breath. "I would really love a massage from you right now."

"When you get back tonight, my hands will be waiting to give you as many massages as you like. And they will offer other forms of relaxation as well,  _my dear_."

"I'm holding you up on that, Dean," Cas said. "On the massage, anyway."

Dean chuckled. "You got it. Hey, babe, sorry I have to let you go so soon, but it looks like Sam needs to be somewhere at six so I have to get back to this. I'll talk to you when you get back. Drive safely." Dean clicked.

Cas tossed his phone on the empty passenger seat, bitter at the secretive way Dean was acting. He didn't make much of it in the morning when Dean told him he couldn't accompany him because he had plans with Sam. Cas had been in too much of a rush to care at the moment, but now the thought was gnawing at him.

He shook away the feeling as he pulled up at his destination. Confused, he picked up his phone and dialed the number of the band he was meeting with today.

"Ghostfacers speaking," a nervous voice said at the other end of the line. "It's not actually all of us, just me, Corbett."

"Uh, yeah, I spoke to Ed earlier. He gave me the address of your band studio, but I think I might have written it wrong because I'm in a neighborhood of houses."

"Oh, I think I just spotted you," Corbett said. "Would you mind parking on the side of the road? I'll be right out. Let me get Ed first."

Cas didn't know much about bands, but he was feeling a bit shady about this one. But what could he have expected? He found them on craigslist. With a sigh and a silent hope that his wedding wouldn't be a total disaster, he hopped out of the car and walked towards the house.

The garage door of the house opened instantly, and three men and a woman stood behind it, and Cas hadn't seen anything more dramatically portrayed in his life.

"Castiel, isn't it?" One of them said slowly.

"Yes," Cas said. "And I assume you are the Ghostfacers?"

The same man who spoke first stepped forward. "Indeed we are. Best band in the country, if I do say so myself."

Cas tried not to laugh at the severe seriousness on all their faces. "I talked to an Ed over the phone. Is that you?"

"Indeed it is."

Cas raised an eyebrow, staring straight into Ed's eyes, aiming for the same seriousness. "I read that your band plays classic rock for weddings, parties and such occasions."

"Classic rock, hard rock, punk rock, you name it." Another man spoke behind Ed.

"Shut up, Harry," Ed said, keeping his eyes steady on Cas.

Cas glanced behind Ed, at the other man who had not spoken, and he seemed to be struggling with his emotions as he angrily bit at his lower lip. "Are you alright?"

The other man looked up at him, letting go of his lip that was now bleeding. "What? Oh, yeah. Um, Ed, why don't you tell him our prices so we can get this over with?" Then very quietly, he added, "and you can stop staring at him."

Cas disregarded the man who must have been Corbett. "My wedding is this Saturday. Are you guys free to play that day? I know it's rushed, which is why no other band in the city would agree to play. All I'm looking for is a band that can play classic rock, preferably Zeppelin, Ramones, AC/DC, and Kansas."

Ed sent Cas a wicked grin. "We will  _rock_  your world."

Corbett cleared his throat very loudly.

Cas furrowed his eyebrows at him and then turned back to Ed. "Mind if I hear you play something?"

"Oh my god," Harry said. "I think we might get our first gig ever."

"Shut up, Harry," the woman spoke this time.

"Dammit, Maggie," Harry responded, holding up his drumsticks and heading to the drum set in the garage. The rest of the band followed behind and took place behind their instruments.

Ed appeared to be the lead singer, while the now more controlled Corbett grabbed an electric guitar, and Maggie took the bass.

Cas waited for them to begin, wondering how badly he'd ruined Dean's and his wedding at this point, trying to focus on the fact that what truly mattered was that they were getting married, and everything else could go to hell.  _Right?_

"We will start off with  _You Shook Me All Night Long,_ " said Ed. "Hit it, guys."

And with the three hits of Harry's drumsticks, they began playing. Cas was genuinely surprised at what he was hearing. Somehow, somewhere, the world still owed Cas a favor, because the so called Ghostfacers didn't absolutely stink. Obviously no one could compare to AC/DC, but for a band whose studio was most likely in one of their parents' garage, they were pretty decent.

He found himself clapping and shaking his hips to the rhythm. At one point, he just had to sing along. This was one of his favorite songs that Dean had introduced him to, so it was easy to give in to the music. Cas bobbed his head along till the song came to an end.

"How did we do?" Harry wondered, walking away from his drums. "I know we're still pretty rusty, but we practice every day and we even took classes and Maggie right here can sing the high notes whenever Ed can't."

Castiel laughed. "You're hired."

All four of them shouted with glee, until Ed attacked him with a hug, which Corbett didn't look so happy about.

But that would be a problem for another day.

Cas had a massage waiting for him.

***

(8:43pm)

"I bought take-out," Cas said as he walked into his room. "Dean?"

"In the bathroom," Dean called.

Cas growled as he fell atop the bed, ungracefully. "I'm waiting!" Cas lied there, trying to silently talk himself into sitting up to eat his food because he knew he was starving, but he also really just wanted to not move at all. "You fucking take too long, Winchester," he muttered.

Dean finally stepped out of the bathroom, towel on his waist, and Cas' eyelids kept closing on him, even though he really didn't want them to, especially not with that view. Dean walked closer to him, smiling, and then ran his hand through Cas' hair, removing a few strands from his face. "How many Sundays did you have?"

"Five hundred," Cas mumbled, feeling himself being lulled into sleep easier with the feel of Dean's soft hand on his head.

Dean leaned down to kiss the side of his face. "Take a nap. I'll be waiting for you when you wake up."

"Hmm," was all Cas could come up with before losing a fight with his eyelids.


	3. Monday

MONDAY

(6:02am)

"Get up, Dean," Cas whispered in Dean's ears, interrupting one of his quiet snores. When Dean didn't move, Cas shook him gently, and still nothing. So he pressed his puckered lips exaggeratingly strong against Dean's temple. He pulled back and saw a hint of a smile on Dean's still sleepy face. He chuckled before sliding on top of Dean, stomach to stomach.

The man under him groaned and laughed, stubbornly squeezing his eyes shut. "It's too early. Leave me alone."

Cas shook his head, moving hands to Dean's hair and pulling softly on it. "C'mon, Dean, your parents get here at eight and I'm so hungry. Let's get some breakfast."

"Hmmm," Dean said, struggling to open his eyes. "Wake up slow with me. Just, just stay here. With me. We can get Sam to pick up my parents. Order room service and lay in bed with me all day. Just like this." Dean brought his arms around Cas, sneaking a hand up his shirt to the small of his back. His other hand playfully slapping Cas' ass and then remaining there comfortably.

Cas kissed Dean's bare chest below him, running up to his jaw. He pulled back, took Dean's face in his hands and squished it, making Dean's lips pucker. Cas laughed at that and Dean shut his eyes again. Then he started playing with his lips altogether, stretching them with his fingers to his satisfaction. He laughed again and Dean opened his eyes widely at the sound, fiercely pressing him closer and rolling them so that Cas was underneath him this time.

Dean was quiet, grinning fully at the continued sound of Castiel's rough laughter in the early morning. "I'll make you breakfast, Cas, every day I wake up with you next to me."

Cas squished Dean's face between his hands again, laughing one more time. "You're going to wake up earlier than me? When does that ever happen?"

Dean moved his face to the side in order to lick one of Cas' palms that held him. Cas made a sound of disgust and dried his palm on Dean's back. Dean gazed at Cas, eyes soft and sweet. "Every day, Cas, I will make you breakfast, under one condition."

"I knew there was a catch," Cas said, giving Dean a half-smile.

"Laugh, baby," Dean whispered, so tenderly Cas' heart started racing. "Laugh like this. Every day. Laugh with me."

Cas nodded, serious this time, reaching up to give Dean a quick peck on the lips.

Dean held Cas' gaze for a few more moments, his sleep marks becoming less noticeable, and he grinned, sliding off of Castiel to his side of the bed. He climbed off the bed and held a hand out for Cas, pulling him off the bed, ushering him to his fuzzy house shoes. "Today, unfortunately, I don't have a kitchen to work in. I owe you a home cooked breakfast."

Cas held Dean by his shoulders and kissed his cheek. "You don't owe me anything."

Dean yawned, stretching his back. "We really should just let Sam pick up my parents."

"Dean," Cas said, firmly.

"I know, I know."

"You know, you know. Go get ready. We're on a schedule, Winchester."

***

(7:10am)

Castiel watched attentively as Dean squeezed the bottle of syrup, shamelessly drowning the stack of pancakes on his plate. He sighed, giving Dean a look.

Dean winked, licking the remaining syrup off his thumb and index finger. "Rule number one, Cas: There is no such thing as too much syrup on your pancakes."

"Oh, I think I have that rule memorized since it's the sixtieth time I've heard it from you. It doesn't make it any less absurd."

Dean cut up his pancakes, staring at the dripping bite with delight before stuffing it in his mouth. He smiled contently as he chewed, swinging from left to right on his chair, which made Cas smile, enthralled by the way Dean looked like a five year old trapped in a twenty-four year old body.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Cas asked, finally taking a spoonful of his very healthy oatmeal.

Dean finished chewing, drinking from his orange juice. "I waited for you to get up till a little after midnight. When I realized you were going to be out all night I went to sleep too."

"I had a long, stressful day yesterday," Cas said.

"I was sleeping like a baby before I was woken up at ungodly hours by a little someone who confused my face with silly putty."

Cas made a face, mocking Dean's complaints.

Dean laughed, taking another mouthful of pancakes.

"It's a really beautiful day outside," Cas said, after a moment of comfortable silence and mindless eating. "Your parents chose a good day to arrive."

Dean grinned. "I'll bet it'll be ten times better on our wedding day."

Cas smiled back, leaning over the table to straighten the collar of Dean's green jacket. "I'm counting on it."

Dean poked at the last piece of pancake with his fork. He turned to Cas and looked intently at his eyes for a long second. "I love you…pancake," Dean finished, smirking as he ate the rest of his breakfast.

Cas tilted his head, watching Dean again. "Is that another pet name, or did you just confess your love to the pancake?"

Dean gulped down his food with the rest of his juice. "I don't think it even matters. I love you both the same."

Cas chuckled. "I'm sorry about your pancake, though, because he doesn't get to marry you."

"I'm pretty sure I married a stack of pancakes when I was in the second grade. We didn't get very far. I couldn't contain my hunger."

Cas took a last sip of his coffee, smiling. "What a tragedy."

***

(8:12am)

"How was your flight, mom?" Dean asked, taking her in his arms. Mary kissed Dean's head before letting him go.

Mary took a deep breath. "Not that bad. I mean, it could have been worse, considering the way your dad always clings to me every five seconds for moral support."

"It's not normal for those heavy things to be able to fly," John said, looking a little tense. "They're not birds."

"Right," Dean nearly shouted. "Those things are possessed, I tell you. I don't even want to think about the flight back."

Cas rolled his eyes affectionately.

Mary chuckled and pulled Cas into a warm, solid embrace. Cas leaned in to her touch. He loved Mary like his own mother. It was John who still scared him a little bit. He shook his hand once and then he kept walking. Dean had told him many times that his dad wasn't a man of many words, and that it wasn't that he didn't like him. He just didn't know how to show his affection. It was supposed to be the "Winchester way".

Cas never did like the "Winchester way" much.

***

(9:37am)

"Did your parents get settled fine?" Cas asked as Dean entered their room.

"Yeah, they're all set," Dean said. "Jessica just told me she was waiting for you. Where are you two headed to?"

Cas finished placing on his trench coat. "Huh? Oh, I didn't mention it to you? We're going to pick out her dress and my tux."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "What about Sam and me? Don't we need to suit up too?"

"Of course," Cas said, searching for his wallet and cell phone around the room. "Tomorrow is both of your turns. I figured you and Sam would need time to show your parents around."

Dean sighed. "I just thought you needed my help with stuff. I already changed my thing with Sam for nighttime so it wouldn't get in the way."

Cas buried his phone and wallet in each side pocket of his trenchcoat. "Yes, Dean, and I appreciate that, but today your parents are your priority. I wish I could be here as well, but I have to get this taken care of. I'll see you back here for dinner, okay?"

Dean nodded, stopping Cas before walking out the door to kiss him.

Cas licked his lips, savoring the short kiss, but he was in a hurry, so he offered Dean a soft smile before fleeting out the door.

***

(11:11am)

"Make a wish," Jessica said, bouncing on her heels.

Cas gave her a funny look before continuing to look through the elegant dresses.

"Come on, Cas," she pushed, staring at her watch. "You have less than a minute."

"No, I don't believe in wishes."

Jessica pulled on his sleeve. "Do it for me. It's no fun wishing alone."

Cas sighed, and turned to her. "Alright, fine."

Jessica smiled. "Close your eyes, okay?"

Cas waited until Jessica closed her eyes to close his own. He felt pressured to make a wish under a minute, especially because he didn't quite believe in those things. He still wished that his wedding would turn out okay and that, most of all, Dean would be happy.

When he opened his eyes, Jessica was already staring at him. "Done?"

Cas nodded. "What did you wish for?"

"No, no, Cas. That is not how it works. You don't tell anyone your wish or else it doesn't come true."

"Wish logic is ridiculous," Cas said, turning to look through the dresses again.

Jessica snickered, picking out a violet dress with lace fabric running down the length on both sides. "What do you think of this one?" She asked, hopefully.

Cas grinned, eyeing the dress from top to bottom. "Let's go try it on."

***

(1:46pm)

"If we could just shorten the length of the sleeves," Cas muttered. "Other than that, it feels kind of perfect."

"Kind of?" Jessica asked. "You look divine. Look at your cute little bow tie. If you weren't already engaged, I'd probably marry you."

Cas felt himself flushing, and so he laughed. He hadn't laughed this much in a really long time. "Do you think Dean will like it?"

"He'd be blind if he didn't. Seriously, Cas, you look great."

"I guess that's it then," he said. Cas looked back in the mirror, tilting his head to the side, coming up with a crystal clear image of what his wedding day would be like, picturing Dean right beside him, stunningly beautiful as always. He turned around to Jess, a smile forming on his face. "Dean should wear white."

Jessica grinned, nodding her head. "Dean Winchester in white sounds very appealing."

"He will never agree to be the one in white," Cas said, turning back to facing the mirror.

Jess leaned against his side, with her elbow on his shoulder. "Dean will do whatever makes you happy, especially if it'll earn him smiles like those."

***

(3:49pm)

"I still feel like I have things left to purchase," Cas said, more to himself, as he pulled into the Western's parking garage.

Jessica laughed. "That's because you do."

"I was way over my head whenever I decided this would be a good idea. Why didn't anyone stop me?"

Jessica frowned, shoving some of Cas' hair away from his face. "You're doing great. Your wedding will be incredible. Cas, you can't give up now. This is  _your_  wedding."

Cas sighed, more dramatically than he intended. "Jess, you don't know half of it. I feel like I've screwed everything up because I've been rushing this whole thing. A wedding takes time, you know. You don't serve your guests cheeseburgers. They'll ruin their outfits. I should have hired a wedding planner. I'm so bad at this."

"You're serving cheeseburgers at your wedding?" Jessica asked.

Cas nodded. "Sam thought it was a pretty good idea. Andy told me it would be really great. Please tell me this won't be a total disaster. For fuck's sakes I hired a rock band off of craigslist, I ordered fourteen pies in assorted flavors, and my photographer is fresh out of high school. I don't even have my wedding vows. My life is ruined, Jessica. Dean is going to hate our wedding and I'll have to live with this for the rest of my life."

Jessica tried to calm him down. Cas shut the engine once he was parked in a spot in the garage, trying to pull himself together. Telling Jessica his plans for his wedding just made it sound that much of a mess. He'd let Dean down, along with everybody else who would attend their wedding.

Jessica pulled him in her arms and kissed his head a few times, until she started laughing uncontrollably. Cas looked up at her, disbelieving.

"Well, I'm so glad my pain is your source of contentment," Cas said.

Jessica shook her head, still laughing, trying to settle down. "No, it's not. Wait. Cas, don't you see? Your wedding. Everything you did. It's exactly what I would have expected from Dean. You two are basically one and the same."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Jessica breathed, holding her stomach. "Do you really think that Dean wants a high class meal that probably wouldn't hold him through the night? You and Dean both love cheeseburgers. And pie! A rock band is so classy, and Dean is  _addicted_  to craigslist. As for the photographer, I'm sure Dean would be more than happy to help boost a young entrepreneur's business. Cas, let me tell you something Dean probably hasn't mentioned to you before. He never believed in marriage before he met you. Sam always talks about the way he kept criticizing the weddings their parents used to force them to attend. Dean hates the ordinary society-fitting clichés of weddings.  _This_ , what you've created, is what Dean would never expect. But I  _know_  it's what he'll love."

Cas smiled, seeing everything from Jess' perspective. "I created a new brand of wedding, didn't I? A Winchester-Novak original."

Jessica laughed again, and this time Cas laughed along with her.

Maybe, after all, this wouldn't be half bad.

***

(4:13pm)

"Hey, Cas," Dean welcomed Cas as soon as he opened the door, carrying his tux and a few other bags with him. Dean took everything from his hands and placed them carefully on the couch in their room. "Had a long day again?"

Cas breathed deeply. "More or less. I was thinking that maybe you could finally give me that massage you promised me yesterday."

Dean turned to Cas, heading straight for his lips without a warning. Dean's hands traveled up his sides, finally resting on his neck. He began rubbing his neck, while his tongue made its way inside Cas' mouth. Dean breathed inside of Cas, filling him with warmth throughout his body.

Cas ran hands over Dean's chest, pulling on the buttons of his shirt without much concentration.

Dean stopped him there, pulling away. "I'm going to need you to keep your hands steady if you want this massage," he whispered on his ear, sending a thrill down Cas' spine.

"Maybe we can skip the massage," Cas whispered back, pulling Dean's lips to his own again. This time, he worked to remove his trenchcoat.

Dean laughed, kissing Cas' neck, yanking off his firmly pressed white shirt. Dean pulled away, and Cas nearly growled at the separation, he was sure to send him his best glare for that. Dean moved behind him and slowly pushed him towards the bed, but Cas kept turning back to find Dean's perfectly green eyes.

"I can tell you are very exhausted, Cas," Dean said, and Cas let himself be pushed completely to the comfortable bed that called to him with almost a gravitational pull. "I went out yesterday and bought some massage oil especially for you, but you fell asleep on me. So now you are going to suck it up and let me rub your back until you are well rested."

Cas felt Dean sit on top of his ass, rubbing his crotch against it and Castiel groaned underneath him, gripping his hands on the golden comforter. "Fuck, Dean. You fucking tease."

Dean placed his now oily hands on his back, running over from top to bottom, and Cas felt a sudden delicious heat radiating thanks to the oil. "We have a dinner to get to today, remember? But believe me, I'm all up for fooling around if you really want me to stop."

Cas grunted, shutting his eyes and relishing on the beautiful ways his back burned and the tight grips in which Dean's hands ran over his back, shoulders and neck. "You can go on forever. I don't need your penis, thanks."

Dean laughed again, and then he stopped the movement of his hands and instead rubbed his elbows on Cas' bare back. "You're gonna regret those words, Cas."

Cas groaned loudly as Dean pressed his hands once again on his back, untying all the knots that had built up there. Cas felt more oil being applied to his back and he welcomed the extra heat, smiling against the bed. Dean leaned down, seeming to have noticed, and kissed the side of his face.

"Did you take care of everything you had to today?" Dean whispered on his ear.

Cas opened his eyes. "Hmm. We have a photo shoot at the beach on Wednesday."

"Do we? I'm surprised you found a photographer."

"You shouldn't underestimate me."

"Cocky son of a bitch," Dean muttered.

Castiel closed his eyes again slowly, as the heat and Dean's touch become too comforting. He was forced to stay completely awake once he felt Dean's bulge rub against his ass again. Dean purposely continued his teasing, which Cas kept trying to ignore because he was honestly enjoying the massage.

"Fuck you," Cas cried out, twisting around so that his back was against the bed.

"Okay," Dean smiled, leaning down to attack Castiel's lips with his own, twisting his fingers on his hair.

Cas breathed in sharply, moaning out Dean's name with annoyance. He really did want that massage to continue forever.

Dean worked to remove his own shirt now, as Cas sucked on his earlobe. Dean breathed heavily against his ear, and Cas shuttered, helping Dean out of his shirt. In that instant, he'd been reminded of their lack of intimacy in the last couple weeks. No wonder he'd been craving Dean like crazy ever since they got there. Away from the worries and stress of his job, his mind had more time to think about Dean and his set of gifted lips and hands that never seemed to tire of enveloping him.

"Dean," Cas gasped, pulling away from Dean, as if being pulled away from their own little world. "Someone's at the door."

Dean ignored him, pulling Castiel's face to his again. Cas returned Dean's hungry and desperate kisses, and he suddenly felt a strong guilt. Had he neglected Dean for so long?

"Dean? Cas?" Sam called from outside their door.

Dean reluctantly pulled away at the sound of his brother's voice. "Dammit, Sammy." He let out a deep raspy breath before climbing off of Cas.

Cas eyed him carefully, trying to find the best fitting words to comfort Dean, but Dean evaded the eye contact. All Cas managed to do was get dressed, while Dean picked up his shirt and grunted all the way to the bathroom.

Cas took a deep breath before opening the door, just as Sam started walking away down the hallway. "Hi, Sam."

Sam turned around, walking back to the door. "Hey, um, I'm sorry. Did I interrupt something?" He asked warily, as if he didn't really want to know the answer.

"Not at all. What's going on?"

"Mom and dad wanted to go to dinner already," Sam said. "They asked Jess and me to take them sightseeing afterwards. I also have this thing with Dean at night, so we wanted to get started early."

Cas nodded, his mind lingering on Sam's mention of his mysterious plans with Dean. "I will let Dean know. We'll meet everyone in the lobby."

Sam grinned. "Sure, I'll go check up on Jess. She was having trouble picking out the 'appropriate' outfit," Sam emphasized the word with air quotes.

"Tell her to send me pictures and I'll tell her which one looks better on her."

Sam laughed. "Alright, thanks Cas."

Cas nodded again, closing the door. He noticed that Dean was still in the bathroom. It was unlike Dean to lock himself up in the bathroom and throw fits. He knocked on the door once.

"What is it?" Dean answered from the other side of the door.

"Sam says your parents are ready for dinner. Do you want me to iron your clothes?"

"No," Dean said, and Cas could hear a hint of bitterness in his tone, until the door opened and Dean offered him a warm smile. "You sound like my wife already."

Cas grinned, content with Dean's positive mood change. "I can be a housewife if you want me to. I'll quit my job, stay home, clean the house, cook you dinner, and welcome you home with a freshly baked pie every afternoon."

Dean smiled widely before breaking into full throttle laughter. "You could wear an apron over your slacks. You already have the shoes to go with it!"

Cas rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that'd look real nice, Dean. Come on now, get ready. Do you want me to iron your clothes, or not? It's a limited time offer. I also have to change."

"Nah, I can iron it myself," Dean said, walking out of the bathroom and up to kiss Cas' forehead. " _Angel_."

"Really?" Cas said, hiding the grin on his face. That was the only pet name he would allow Dean to keep.

***

(5:33pm)

Mary smiled, reaching blindly for her newly re-wedded husband at her side. "The Bridges Restaurant has such a beautiful view, doesn't it dear?"

John picked up his napkin, his eyes following the same path to the bridge and the skyscrapers in the city. He picked up Mary's hand on his arm and kissed the back of it. "It's a helluva place. Expensive, but worth it."

Cas caught Dean smiling, a thin layer of tears welling up in his eyes, which he controlled with ease.

"How are the preparations coming along Castiel?" Mary asked, leaning forward on the table.

Cas turned to Jessica, nervous about the question. Jessica gave him an encouraging smile, which Cas tried hard to imitate. "To be honest, it's been hell for me. I don't know if I'm doing anything right." Cas turned to Dean, who was frowning at his abrupt confession.

Dean cupped his face with one hand, and Cas felt the gesture too tender and intimate for the public. "Nothing you do for this wedding could be wrong," Dean whispered.

Castiel blinked, enraptured by Dean's action, words and the soft look in his eyes, but also surprised and a little tense about the four careful eyes staring at the couple. Dean had never talked to him this way before in front of others. Cas formed a more genuine smile in response.

John and Sam both cleared their throats at that, and the sound of their forks scrapping their plates was heard again.

Dean gave Cas a smile before pulling his hand away and facing the table. He, too, picked up his fork and knife and continued eating in silence.

"So," John said, cleaning his mouth with his napkin. "What are the plans for after the wedding?"

Dean raised an eyebrow. "You mean our honeymoon, dad?"

John nodded slowly. "Yeah, anything exciting planned? A trip to Europe? A cruise? I know Cas here is loaded with cash. How are you planning on spending that money?"

Dean inhaled deeply, turning to Cas to roll his eyes. "Castiel's money is his money. He spends it however the hell he wants to. Anyway, I already have something prepared for us."

Cas turned to Dean, confused. "Since when do you have something prepared for our honeymoon? Dean, we've never talked about this."

"Uh-oh, do I sense marital problems already?" John said before chuckling.

Mary smacked John's arm. "For goodness sakes John, would you behave? Leave the kids alone. They're not having marital problems, and even if they were, that's none of our business. Now shush and finish your dinner. I want to hear more about this honeymoon." She smiled at Cas and then at Dean, waiting patiently.

Cas turned to Dean again, waiting as well.

Dean dropped his cutlery, sighing. "It's supposed to be a surprise. I'd like to keep it that way."

"You're such a romantic, Dean," Mary said.

"Guess we're not that different anymore," Sam said, smirking. "Admit it, Dean, you are the corniest one of us all at this table."

"Bitch," Dean hissed.

"Language," Mary reminded him.

Dean turned to Cas again, silently begging for help.

"So, how are your cake-decorating classes going, Mary?" Cas asked, hoping for a distraction away from Dean.

Mary's eyes lighted up at the mention, and she started on her favorite topic, taking up the rest of their time at the restaurant. After a few minutes, Dean looked at Cas with a proud grin on his face, and then he mouthed an "I love you," which made Cas' heart thump uncontrollably fast.

 _Such an idiot in love_ , he thought.  _With a hopelessly romantic fiancé._

_***_

(8:41pm)

"Do I really have to do this?" Dean complained. "Now?"

Cas shoved the notebook and pen in Dean's hands. "If we don't write our vows now we'll never find the time."

"I have that thing with Sam," Dean said, as if that simple excuse would get him his way.

"You said Sam wouldn't be back until nine. You have a little less than twenty minutes. That's more than enough time if you ask me."

"Well I didn't ask you, genius."

Cas stared at Dean. "You don't have to be so rude."

"You don't have to be so sexy," Dean snapped.

Cas smirked. "Excellent comeback."

Dean sighed, jumping on the bed with his pen and paper, ready to write. Cas sat at the desk in their hotel room, and soon after he found himself simply staring at the blank piece of paper before him. After a moment, he turned to his side, trying to peek at Dean. He appeared to already be scribbling down on his notebook.

Cas turned his chair all the way to face Dean completely. "Dean, can I ask you something?"

Dean looked up from his writing, turning the notebook face down on the bed. "I'm not telling you what I wrote. You have to wait until our wedding."

Cas furrowed his brow. "It's not that, Dean. Don't be silly. I was just thinking, before we came here, that…well, I realized you're so young, and though our age difference doesn't bother either of us, well, I couldn't help but wonder why you wanted to get married now. I never questioned your reasoning behind your proposal, I was just so happy. But at twenty-four, I was still in med school, and I contemplated marriage, yes, but not at all seriously." He shrugged. "I wouldn't have gone through with it until after I was done with school, and everything else."

"Age difference?" Dean asked, humorously. "I'm almost twenty-five. You're, what, eight years older than me? Big deal!"

"You're missing the point, Dean."

"No, I'm not," Dean said, sitting straighter on the bed. "I know what you're saying. I didn't rush into my proposal, Cas. I didn't. So maybe I wish I could already have my nursing job, but that's because the extra money would really help with this wedding. The moment I realized you weren't the only one who cared about the labels—which can get to be a little stupid—I knew I had to marry you. I have to tell the world how much I love you in every way I can. I'm not going to wait to do this. I'm not going to let you slip out of my hands again, Cas. Never." Dean frowned, hesitating on what he wanted to say next. "Unless you wanted that. Then I wouldn't hold it against you."

Cas tilted his head, extraordinarily puzzled. "You think…you think I'll ever want to leave you again, Dean?" Cas stood up and went to sit on the bed next to Dean. "I don't think you understand the extreme misery I lived in when I let you go. You had alcohol, Dean, but I had nothing. I am not losing you again."

Dean stared at Cas with a deadly serious look on his face. "You and I are getting married in a few days. And we're not going to let anything get in the way of our wedding."

"You don't like weddings," Cas reminded him.

"No, but I like  _you_." Dean grinned. "And I'm going to marry the shit out of you."

Cas stared back at Dean in full seriousness until both of them started laughing, falling back on the bed.

"You make me feel like a teenager again," Cas said, staring at the ceiling above them.

"Hell, I'd like to know what that feels like again, too."

Cas turned to Dean, and Dean was already looking at him, a glimmer of joy in his perfect green eyes. "It feels like this."

***

(11:32pm)

Cas was stubborn enough, and despite knowing he had to be up before seven in the morning, he was going to wait for Dean before going to sleep. His eyes kept closing on him, though, and he tried to keep them manually open, but the only movie the hotel was playing was Twilight, and it really wasn't helping him stay awake. He forced himself out of the bed, sluggishly moving to the desk, picking up his briefcase on the way. He knew if he looked hard enough, he'd find some paperwork he had to tend to. There was always paperwork.

Cas yawned, picking up his reading glasses from the table. He glanced to the side of the briefcase after putting it down. The paper where he'd written his vows was completely filled up, and he smiled unconsciously, thinking of the look on Dean's face once he heard it, as well as trying to imagine what Dean would say to him in response.

The dark-brown leather briefcase stared back at him, and the sight of it bored Cas even more than the poor portrayal of vampires in present romance films. He groaned exasperatedly before reluctantly opening it up. Cas pulled out a manila envelope he didn't recognize and scanned through some of the papers stacked underneath it, some of them he'd completely forgotten existed. The lease of his house was one of them.  _I should keep that somewhere safer_ , he thought.

After getting through with some of the incredibly neglected paperwork, he glanced at the manila envelope, picking it up again. He had no recollection of ever putting that in there. He thought that maybe Dean could have put it in there, but in that case it was just to keep it safe on the flight to Canada. Cas respected Dean's privacy, so very much, and vice versa, but if this was in his briefcase, then he had a right to look.

Cas bit at his lower lip before opening up the envelope and reaching for the contents inside. Cas pushed up his glasses as he read the papers. He kept staring at the pages in his hands, unable to react to their written words.

The papers were a Prenuptial Agreement, which appeared to be professionally done, which meant that Dean actually took his time to see a lawyer, and then sneakily stuck them all into Cas' briefcase when he wasn't looking.

Cas was astounded, in every wrong way. He flipped the pages that still hadn't been filled out, but they were very detailed.

_What was that fucking man thinking?_

Cas shook his head, burying the papers back in the envelope and setting it on top of the briefcase, glaring at them as if they were an infectious disease. Cas thought back to the comment Dean made during dinner with his parents.

 _"Castiel's money is his money. He spends it however the hell he wants to."_ The only reason Castiel didn't protest at that was because he thought Dean was merely saying it to argue with his father. He never thought Dean honestly believed that.

Cas fell back on the chair, taking off his glasses and rubbing at his tired eyes. The envelope was still there when he looked again; meaning Dean still thought the separation of their belongings was completely necessary. Cas gulped down his anger.

Dean wanted to marry him, but only him. Dean wanted to share himself with Cas, but would not allow Cas to share every part of his life with him. How was that fair? How could he allow that, when all Cas wanted was a complete union of both of them?


	4. Tuesday

TUESDAY

(7:25am)

Cas opened his eyes, reading the alarm clock on the nightstand closest to him. He'd completely forgotten to set the alarm the night before, and he'd finally gone to bed at one in the morning. With no signs of Dean.

He didn't feel the bed to be empty, though, but Cas wasn't ready to turn around and check it he was right. Cas lied there on his side, pulling the covers closer to him and wrapping himself underneath them. Outside, Cas heard the rhythmic thud of swift raindrops hitting the windows. He could practically smell the rain, if he tried hard enough. Cas loved rainy days, but only when he could stay indoors, safely in bed watching and listening to the rain outside.

Cas blinked a few times, knowing well enough that wouldn't be possible today. He pushed the covers away, stretching him limbs widely on the bed, and suddenly there were hands all over him. Cas stiffened, unable to turn around and look at Dean, but closing his eyes as he felt his soft hands running up and down on his side, the other sneaking underneath him and landing on his belly.

"Don't go," Dean begged in a soothing whisper, pulling Cas closer to him.

Cas opened his eyes, staring straight ahead at nothing. He didn't have it in him to argue at this time of the day, but the reminder of the Prenupt papers made him flinch away from Dean's touch. He didn't think Dean would notice, but his hands stopped moving over him.

"What's the matter, Cas?"

Castiel angled his face, so he could finally look at Dean. The man behind him was frowning, and he had a worried crease on his eyebrows. "It's nothing, Dean." Cas held one of Dean's unmoving hands, interlacing their fingers. "We have to get ready."

Dean pressed a kiss on Cas' neck, hesitantly but not any less sweet. "Are you sure?"

Cas nodded, biting his lower lip, untangling his hand from Dean and then the rest of his body in order to get out of their bed. Cas turned to Dean then, noticing his worry hadn't been put to rest. "Dean, I'm fine."

Dean sighed, rubbing his hands on his face. "What did I do this time?"

Cas stared at Dean, and he felt so close to telling him he found the papers, but he knew, he just knew, they would never leave their room if he did. And it wouldn't be due to magnificent sex—which they hadn't had in so long—no, it would be due to both their stubbornness and inability to agree on much of anything. If Dean brought those papers along, it was for a reason. And Dean wasn't one to keep his reasons to a minimum. So, Cas took a breath to calm himself down before saying "Can we talk about it after breakfast?"

Dean sat up on the bed, taking one last long look at Cas before nodding. "Is it that bad? It would help if you gave me a small hint."

"You should call Sam," Cas said, ignoring Dean completely. "Ask him if he'd like to have breakfast with us. After that we could go get both of you your suits. I'm going in to shower first, alright?"

Dean's worried crease formed clearer, and Cas had the urge to throw him against the bed and kiss him hard, for being so stupid and stupid, and a stupid some more. He turned on his heels instead, grabbing a change of clothes and pacing to the bathroom.

***

(8:47am)

Sam looked from Dean to Cas, but neither of them seemed willing to speak. Sam poked at his food, looking all too uncomfortable at the various moments of silence between them. Cas kept circling his spoon around in his coffee, and Dean stared down at his dry pancakes, a permanent frown on his face.

"Guys," Sam said, "if I'd known it was going to be this way, I would have gone with Jessica and the rest of the girls out shopping."

Cas scowled at Dean, but Dean was still staring pensively at his pancakes.

Dean turned to him then, apparently intrigued. "Cas, is this about my stinky shoes?"

"What?" Cas asked, releasing his hold on the spoon.

Dean leaned closer to Cas, quietly saying "I know my shoes stink, okay? I'm sorry. I've tried to do something about it, but no matter what I do, they still reek of year old cheese on a summer day. If that's what this is about, then you don't have to worry about it. I'm throwing them all out, and if I have to, I will work extra hard at the shop so I can buy a new pair for each day of the week."

Cas widened his eyes, swallowing down the aftertaste of his bitter coffee. "Dean, what?"

Dean rolled his eyes because now Sam was laughing nonstop, holding his belly and arching forward on the table. "Please, Cas, don't make me say it again."

"I'm not upset over your stinky shoes," Cas said, shaking his head. "Why would you think that?"

Dean shrugged, glancing quickly at Sam because he refused to quit laughing at the sake of his brother. "I try to be cautious about it. I have for years. I thought maybe you were upset over this now that you realized you will have to deal with me forever."

"You really underestimate my will power."

Dean frowned even more at that, turning to glare at Sam, who was barely recovering.

Cas drank from his coffee, trying to not dwell on the part where Dean confessed being self-conscious about something so insignificant, which had much significance for Dean. And also, the fucking part where Dean felt he would have to work harder at the shop to afford new pairs of shoes for himself. How the hell did Cas never realize Dean had these issues with spending Castiel's money? Castiel had absolutely no attachment to his money. He didn't mind spending it, especially when it came to Dean. He'd give it all to Dean. Of course, though, now he knew Dean would rather not touch any of it.

"I'm sure I could get you some foot deodorant for your stinky feet," Sam said, wiping away the tears in his eyes.

Cas looked at Dean's humorless expression, placing a hand softly on his shoulder. "Did you ever consider talking to a doctor about this, especially since you know one and are about to marry another?"

Dean sighed, squeezing the bottle of syrup over his pancakes at last. After he took his first bite he turned to Cas, forcing a small smile. "Later. Okay?"

Cas nodded, feeling his stomach twist at the expectation of the inevitable argument ahead of them.

***

(10:02am)

"Quite honestly, I'm surprised you fit into anything, Sam," Cas admitted, smirking at the overgrown human fitting perfectly in his black suit. "This is definitely your look. I'd take you for an attorney."

Sam beamed, fixing his red tie. "I could pull it off." Sam watched his reflection in the mirror, making serious lawyer-y faces. " _Objection, your honor!_ "

Castiel laughed, folding his arms in front of him. "You nailed it."

Sam grinned back, running hands over the suit as if testing it out. "Hey, where'd Dean go? He needs to see me in this getup."

Cas scanned the store, twisting around on his feet, until he spotted Dean in the far corner of the room, leaning back against the wall, looking down at his feet. Cas was getting tired of this constant look on Dean ever since this morning. He didn't want to argue, but he also didn't want to see Dean this way. He had to talk to him soon. Cas walked towards Dean, avoiding physical contact with the wandering people in the store.

Dean looked up before Cas reached him, sensing his presence. He forced a smile for the second time in that day, and Castiel couldn't resist slamming him against the wall and kissing him senseless. He didn't mind the other patrons who could see them, even though this side of the store was desolate. Cas held Dean's face in his hands, attempting to soothe his worries over upsetting Cas and his stinky shoes. Cas felt another twist in his stomach when Dean whimpered like a little puppy in desperate need of affection. Dean wrapped his arms around Cas, pulling him closer and gripping desperately at his trenchcoat.

Cas pulled back, but not after kissing Dean's nose because that never failed to make the other man smile.

Dean took a deep breath, forming the smile Castiel had hoped for. "Don't you ever scare me like that again, Castiel."

Cas ran his thumb over Dean's dampened lips. "I love you. We still have to talk, but I can't stand seeing you beat yourself up over practically nothing. Now let's go back to Sam. He wants to show you how handsome he looks in his suit."

Dean held his hand as they walked back to Sam, who was now on the phone, pacing around in small shapes.

"No, I'm not kidding, Jess," Sam mumbled into the phone. "You remember how James Bond looked in that movie? No, not that one. Why would you think that's the one I was referring to? Yeah, that's the one. I look  _just_ like him!"

Dean turned to Cas, shaking his head in disbelief. "What is he on?"

Sam pulled the phone away and turned to Cas. "Don't you think this would look better with a bow tie instead?"

Cas laughed, noticing how Sam had already styled his hair differently. "Of course. I'll be wearing one myself."

Sam smiled brightly at that, returning to his conversation with Jessica over the phone.

Cas took the opportunity to tell Dean about his idea of him wearing white. Dean blinked back at him, as if deciding whether this was a battle worth fighting on top of the one headed their way.

"If you don't want to," Cas said, "then we could both wear black. I just think it might be kind of...neat."

Dean pondered that momentarily, looking as if he were a buffering image. He finally came to, winking at Cas. "I can be your bride on our wedding day, if you'll be my bride on our wedding night."

Cas understood Dean's analogy and responded with a quick flush and a chuckle. "Or, you know, we could take turns being brides."

"Cheater," Dean said affectionately.

Cas laughed, overhearing Sam's ongoing conversation with Jess when he heard him start quoting lines from all sorts of different movies. "No, I think it's fair enough. As well as with our last names. I take yours and you take mine."

Dean narrowed his eyes at Cas, amused. "Winchester-Novak?  _Dear_ , I don't think so."

"So what? I'll be Novak-Winchester. Your last name will be ruining mine just as much. As if I wanted to be named after a rifle."

Dean gasped dramatically. "You take that back, punk."

Cas stared firmly into Dean's eyes, taking a step closer. "No."

"Cas, I'm not playing around anymore," Dean warned him. "You can't convince me of changing my last name."

Cas grinned. After spending so long with Dean, he'd learned to welcome and accept a good challenge. "Oh,  _pumpkin_ , you will add my last name to yours, just as I will add yours to mine, and no blood will be shed."

Dean cocked his head, stubbornly. "Yeah?  _Muffin_?"

"Are we buying pumpkin muffins?" Sam asked, smugly hiding his cell phone in the pocket inside the suit.

Dean chewed off a smile, turning to Sam. "Nah, Cas was just telling me how much he will miss his last name once it's replaced completely by mine."

Sam raised his eyebrows, watching the playful dispute between the couple.

"I'm afraid Dean has a hearing deficiency," Cas said. "You see, I've already explained to him how his brand new name will be Winchester-Novak, but he's as good as deaf. I might have to give him a physical when we get back home."

Dean chuckled falsely, placing his hands on his hips. "I hear perfectly well, Castiel, thank you very much for your concern."

"You don't have to thank me, Mr. Winchester-Novak."

Dean groaned, throwing up his hands in the air. "Someone get me a fucking suit to try on. I don't want to lose my shit and punch a girl."

Cas folded his arms, defiantly. "You're going to punch yourself, then?"

Sam went into a round of laughter. Dean laughed reluctantly along with him, and Cas nodded at Dean, confident in believing he would win this particular argument.

***

(1:12pm)

After finding a pair of shoes for the wedding for all three of them, and a lot of teasing from Sam about Dean's particular shoes, the three shared a comparatively nicer lunch that went ten times better than their breakfast.

Cas drove them all back to the Westin, and Dean offered to carry Cas' shoes like a true gentleman. Sam rode in the elevator with them up to the third floor, while Dean and Cas waited until they got to the fifth one to exit. Cas was feeling the anxiety creeping up in his system again, as they made way to the hallways that would lead them to their room.

Dean spared Cas a glance, letting him know without any words that he felt the same way.

"One more year,  _Mr. Badass_. You can't fucking wait one more year? No, of course you can't. You got fucking hooked thanks to fucking Dean, and now look at you!"

Cas and Dean jogged to the familiar voices around the corner of their hallway. They stood alarmed watching Ellen's fiery red face half-spitting words at Ash's face. She held a beer in her hand, while the other held Ash's chest hard against the wall. Ash stood there, unmoving, simply looking back at his mother with dozing eyes.

"I told you, boy," Ellen continued. "I catch you one more time getting yourself wasted like this and you're the hell out of my house. But you weren't listening then just like you ain't listening now. Boy, you're just like your deadbeat daddy. Wanting to screw your life up over a few drinks."

"Ellen," Dean started, but became a mute when Ellen snapped her head up to glare at him. She let go of Ash and approached Dean instead, wagging her index finger accusingly in front of her.

" _You_  did this to my boy, Dean Winchester," She hissed. "You corrupted him and then left him there to rot. What the hell am I supposed to do with what's left of him? He drinks his entire paycheck! Doesn't go to school. Shit, he's wasting his life away."

Dean looked back to Ash, who'd fallen to the ground, his head bobbing to the side. Cas walked up to Ash, picking up his face and trying to wake him up. Ash's eyes kept trying to open, and he wrinkled his forehead, burping on Cas' face.

Cas stepped away from Ash, staring back at Dean and Ellen.

Dean looked at Cas, as if seeking courage from him. "I'm going to help him get out of this, Ellen, trust me. I know it's my fault, and I know I was just like that, but I'm getting better. It's not impossible to stop being…this way. Look, I'll take care of him. I'll look out for him while we're here. I know I can try to talk some sense into him one way or another."

Ellen grunted, pushing Dean's chest. "You better watch him real good, Dean. You owe him that much. He's a sneaky son of a bitch. Smart, too."

"I know all the tricks in the book, Ellen," Dean admitted, sadly.

"Just don't let him drink anymore, you hear me?"

Dean nodded, and Ellen grumbled a lot of swears on her way to the elevator.

Cas took one of Ash's arms around his shoulders, pulling him up off the ground. Dean helped him with his other arm, and they maneuvered him into their bedroom, where they deposited him on their couch. Ash was already sound asleep and snoring as loudly as possible.

***

(2:26pm)

Cas handed Ash a Styrofoam cup, straight from the coffee maker in their room. "This is his fourth cup of coffee, Dean. I think that's enough."

Dean stared down at Ash, as the other man tasted the bitter coffee and made a face of disgust. "No, it won't be enough until he gets his shit together."

"Shut up, Dean," Ash grumbled, setting down the cup of coffee and lying back down on their couch. "I'm fucking tired. I'm taking a nap."

"The hell you are," Dean said, smacking Ash's head and dragging him back up to sit down. He took the cup of coffee and put it in his hand again. "Drink it all. Don't leave a sip. You're going to stay in here while Cas and I go downstairs. As soon as we take care of something, I'm coming back up here. You won't have  _any_  time to run out of here. Order room service if you're hungry."

Cas sighed, as Ash took another drink from his fourth cup of coffee. "I'll see if we can get a pull-out bed brought up here. In the meantime, I hope the couch is comfortable enough."

Ash rolled his eyes, setting the cup down with no eagerness to ever pick it back up. "I don't need babysitters. I'll get me my own room. Problem solved."

"The hell you are," Dean repeated. "This problem is far from solved. I should know, better than anyone. This isn't something that just goes away. You don't just decide to put your life together and with the snap of the fingers it happens. No. Do you have any idea what I go through every day I'm sober? I  _want_  to drink! Sometimes it feels like I actually need it. Like my body will shut down if I don't have a sip of alcohol. But I've learned to control it. I've had some real good help, I'll give you that."

Cas blinked at Dean, agonized to see the man he loved confess his deepest struggle. Cas always wondered about the strength it took Dean to deny alcohol at parties or social events. To be surrounded by drinkers everywhere, and not drink himself. And even when there wasn't any temptation, the lingering thoughts in his mind must constantly haunt him. Dean was watching Cas right now, reaching for his hand, and Cas took it, holding it tight against his, rubbing his thumb against the back of Dean's hand.

Ash stared at both their hands connected, his face crushed with ancient melancholy. "I'm so fucking glad you found help, Dean. Good for you. But in case you haven't noticed, my usual company is either a bottle or a can of beer. You take that away, and all you've got is this worthless piece of crap."

"Man, I  _know_  I screwed you up," Dean murmured, letting go of Cas and kneeling in front of Ash. "I know that. You also know that I tried to help. I'm not good with interventions, you know that, too. At least I don't feel capable now. I'm sorry I gave up on you so soon. I won't do that again, but I'm getting married, Ash, in just a few days. Can we just cool down till this wedding passes? I promise to work with you on this. Cas will too, right, Cas?" Dean turned for confirmation.

Castiel was already nodding.

"What if I don't want an intervention?" Ash asked, narrowing his eyes.

Dean stood up again, reaching blindly for Castiel's hand and walking to the door. "Let's just cool off till after the wedding, okay? Will you do this for me, buddy?"

Ash exhaled a loud huff of breath, putting his legs up on the couch. "Yeah, yeah. You go do what you have to. I won't move an inch."

Cas wanted to say something to Ash, but he knew sometimes words weren't enough comfort in situations like these.

Perhaps he simply needed to find someone who'd care for him the way he cared for Dean.

***

(3:39pm)

"I'm tired of talking about Ash," Dean said after a moment of quiet.

Cas agreed with a single head nod. The hotel restaurant was nearly empty, and they both only ordered two glasses of water. Cas was partly glad they hadn't gotten to their argument yet, while the greater part worried about the drunken man sleeping in their room.

"Let's hear it, Cas," Dean said, signaling Cas with his hand. "What did I do to upset you this morning?"

Castiel sighed, resigned to begin the inevitable. The tricky part was not fighting with Dean, while still getting his point across about Dean's ridiculous plans. "I found the manila envelope you placed inside my briefcase."

Dean nodded slowly, with a blank expression. "Did you open it up?"

Cas was surprised to see there was no fighting between them yet, but then again, they had prepared for this all morning. "I did. I found the Prenuptial Agreement papers, which I'm assuming you hired a lawyer to create."

"Yes. And I'm  _assuming_  you have an incredible issue with all of this."

Cas leaned forward on the table, tilting his head curiously at his fiancé, whom he'd thought he knew everything about, yet still learned new things about him every day. "Dean, the money I make has no special value to me. If I sign those papers, I would feel as if I'm choosing  _it_  over you. And if anything would happen between us—may it never—but if it did, then I wouldn't choose my possessions over you. Am I making myself clear?"

"No, I get that, Cas," Dean said patiently. "It's not that I don't see that, trust me. You're always very eager to buy me things and pamper me like a spoiled kid, but that's not who I am. I've always worked for my money. I've always spent it the wrong way, but at least I knew it was the product of my sweat. I think that Prenupt is my way of keeping that mindset, even when married to you."

"I won't sign it," Cas said stubbornly, folding his arms and sealing his mouth in a thin line.

Dean grimaced, leaning back in his chair. "Not even if it would make me happy?"

"All I want is your happiness, yes, but not this way. I am sorry, Dean. If you so believe my possessions are only mine, then you should let me choose how they are managed."

Dean took a deep breath, maintaining the firm eye contact with Cas. "Okay. Okay, I will let this one slide. You know why?"

Cas burrowed his eyebrows. "Why?"

Dean grinned, almost smugly. "Because I'm never giving you a divorce."

Cas smiled, picking up his water and pointing it in Dean's direction until Dean picked up his and they clicked their glasses. "I will drink to that."

Dean chuckled before taking a drink of nothing more than pure refreshing water. After Dean set his glass down and Cas was drying up the few drops that escaped from his mouth, Dean started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Cas wondered suspiciously. "Do I have something in my face?"

"We finally agreed on something without a fight," Dean pointed out, raising both his eyebrows in surprise. "I was preparing myself for the worst scenario ever since this morning. Now we just sat down and talked things in a civilized way and we didn't even have to yell."

Cas smiled. "I guess this marriage thing is changing us."

Dean took another sip of his water, chewing on an ice cube. "I'm still not changing my last name."

"We'll see about that, Winchester-Novak."

Dean rolled his eyes before leaning in to plant a kiss to Castiel's forehead.

***

(4:51pm)

Cas' eyes went wide as he stared at the computer screen in front of him. "Chuck, this is amazing. How did you come up with it?"

Chuck turned to Jo to shove her side tenderly. "I didn't do it alone."

Cas then turned to Dean, who looked a bit perplexed as to what he was seeing, but other than that he looked as thrilled as Cas. "This is beautiful, isn't it, Dean?"

Dean glanced into Cas' eyes, the green in his eyes looking bright in the light of the day. "Is this for real?"

Chuck twisted the computer screen back to him and Jo, typing a few things Cas couldn't glance at anymore. "We're taking our duty very seriously. We went to chat with Becky Rosen, making sure we knew every exact thing Castiel ordered. Then Jo and I downloaded this really cool software that allows us to illustrate the scenery for both the ceremony and the reception."

Jo beamed, staring from Cas to Dean. "And I don't like to brag, but we don't do surprises well, so I will just tell you. Chuck and I hired a DJ. His name is Kevin Tran, but he goes by Kevin AP, don't ask me why. He has done countless weddings and birthday parties, and we sort of snatched him from the gig he had for this weekend."

Cas looked alarmed, glancing back to Dean, and then to Jo. "But I hired a band already."

Jo waved it off, shifting excitedly in her seat. "Bands get tired. Besides, you need someone to play the CD of your wedding song—which, by the way, you need to give to me ahead of time so that I can give it to Kevin."

"Which band did you hire, Cas?" Dean wondered casually.

Cas pulled at the cord hanging from his trenchcoat, giving him a feel of security. "I…they aren't…well they're a rock band. Have patience. You will meet them at our wedding."

Dean's face brightened as soon as Cas mentioned they were a rock band. "You really outdid yourself with this one, Cas. And you, Jo, Chuck, whoa, who would have thought we had Grade A wedding planners in the family?"

"I just watch a lot of house renovation shows," Chuck said, running his hands quickly over his laptop's keyboard.

Jo looked horrified at Chuck's solemn confession. "You couldn't keep that tiny little fact to yourself?"

Chuck shrugged, continuing to type.

Jo got up to sit on the other side of Chuck so that she was closer to them. "We have to talk about the rehearsal, you know. Give me all the details. I'll set everything up."

Cas gasped, his mind drawing blanks as he realized he'd never even stopped five seconds to plan for a wedding rehearsal.

Jo raised an eyebrow, seemingly understanding. "You haven't arranged a thing, have you?"

Cas slowly shook his head, upset over his own stupidity. "I guess that's a pretty important part to leave out, is it not?"

"Only a little," Jo said sarcastically. Or did she? Was this really important? What the hell was he going to do now? It didn't fit to his schedule.

"I don't think Cas and I have to rehearse shit, Jo," Dean said.

Jo fixed her eyes on Dean, looking slightly irritated. "You have been no help so far, so I suggest you keep your pie-hole shut while the professionals do the work."

Dean leaned forward. "You listen to me you little—"

"Quiet," Cas said once, and Dean leaned back against the big sofa in the lobby.

Jo smiled, looking around Cas to stick her tongue out at Dean. "Thank you for controlling your beast, Castiel."

Cas sighed. "Please just tell me this rehearsal thing won't take up all day long."

"There is no telling," Jo said. "But we  _have_  to do it Friday."

Cas nodded, trying to get on track. "Right. At what time? Who do I have to inform about this? Is this a formal event? What will Dean wear? What will I wear? No, I have to pick out Dean's clothes first, or he'll dress in one of his favorite flannel shirts."

"I am right here,  _darling,_ " Dean budged in.

"I know,  _dear_ ," Cas said mindlessly.

Jo laughed, raising both her eyebrows this time. "You two are worse than married already. Congrats." She became serious once again. It was sort of a scary mood swing actually. "Listen to me, Castiel. This rehearsal will be held at noon, at the park in which you are getting married. I will let everyone know about it. All you have to do is show up, dress pretty, and after we will all go out to dinner because I cannot arrange a rehearsal dinner with so little time. Is that clear?"

Cas nodded to everything, trying to process and store all of the information provided. "So, then, that takes care of everything, right?"

Jo grinned, petting Castiel's head. "As long as you have the rings."

"Fucking dammit!" Cas yelled, loud enough for the entire hotel to hear.

***

(7:41pm)

Cas knocked on Sam and Jessica's room, biting his lower lip anxiously before the door opened and Jessica stood smiling. "I'm sorry to bother you right now, Jess, but I'm going to need to borrow you again tomorrow."

Jessica smiled wider, pulling Cas into her room. "Borrow me? I'm all yours!"

Cas looked around the empty room, heading straight for the made bed, taking off his shoes and curling up under the blankets as if it were his own room. Jessica raced for the other side of the bed and sunk under the covers next to Cas.

"I'm starting to understand why Dean hates weddings," Cas said.

Jessica took a long deep breath. "They're not that bad, once you get past the torture process of it."

Cas groaned, covering his face with the covers. "I never bought Dean's ring," he mumbled with the sheets over his mouth.

Jess pulled the blankets away, giggling at the pout Castiel was making. "That is not an impossible problem to fix."

"Yes, but how do you think I felt when he looked at me with those huge pretty eyes and told me he already had my ring? He's had it for a long while, or so I hear."

"Dean is the one who proposed, so it doesn't surprise me. He knows you have crazy shifts at the hospital. You hardly have time for ring shopping, do you?"

Cas covered his face again. "But Dean has work  _and_  school, on top of that. If anyone shouldn't have time for things like that it's Dean."

"So we'll go shopping for his ring tomorrow," Jess offered. "That is why you need to urgently borrow me, isn't it?"

Cas nodded, removing the blankets himself this time. He looked up to Jess, who was giving him an amusing look, like she was about to change his mood whether he liked it or not.

Jess didn't say anything, she just got out of bed and dug through the clothes in her duffel bag, because somehow she brought a duffel bag along with her. She pulled out a set of faded pajamas and placed on her red sandals. "I'm sleeping over tonight. I'm going to show you what fun is again, you big ball of sad."

Cas sat up on the bed, his lower lip trembling. He was too happy to form words.

"No, don't you give me that puppy-dog look," Jess said, turning to the door. "I get enough of that from Sam."

***

(8:24pm)

"Why can't you let me get my own room?" Ash asked, glancing at Cas and Jess as they settled on the bed. "What if there are pillow-fights and hair-braiding? And I especially don't want to be here for the emotional heart to heart bonding talks after midnight."

Dean folded his arms tightly over his chest, staring down at Ash suspiciously. "You sure know a lot about girl sleepovers. Is there something you want to tell me?"

Ash grimaced, kicking up his feet on the couch. "You guys are so mean."

"Chill out, dude," Sam said as he stepped out from the bathroom. "My girlfriend and Cas are not going to bother your sleep time. If anything, they will lift your spirits."

Ash made a face of horror. "He is one of  _them_."

"We are capable of listening to your whines, Ash," Jessica said, sprawling down across the bed. "So shut it."

Cas nodded at that. "Also, might I point out that in the range of time you have been complaining about us, we have been entirely silent? If anything, we should be the ones protesting about having to babysit you."

"Ooh, that was good, baby," Dean praised, walking up to Cas to high five him proudly. Dean walked back to Ash then, narrowing his eyes. "You behave."

Sam chuckled, leaning way down on the bed to take Jess in his hands and kiss her. "I will miss you when I go to bed and you're not there."

Jess smiled. "Me too."

Dean made a gagging noise as he picked up his jacket and headed for the door. "I guess since there won't be any room for me in here when we get back, I will spend the night with Sammy." Dean grinned up at his gigantic little brother. "Don't  _you_  feel lucky?"

Sam laughed humorlessly and turned to show Jessica his terror. Dean turned quickly back to wink at Cas before leaving with Sam.


	5. Wednesday

WEDNESDAY

(11:23am)

"Should I get it engraved?" Castiel asked Jessica, carefully holding the silver wedding band he picked out for Dean. It was simple because he wouldn't expect Dean to wear anything fancy.

Jessica glanced down at the ring curiously. "Maybe you should, and it should say something like: I love the pizza man."

Castiel frowned. "I don't think Dean would enjoy that." No, Dean would absolutely hate that.

Jessica chuckled, picking up the ring to get a closer look. "Why not? It's true, isn't it?"

Cas sighed, taking back the ring. "I think it should say something along the lines of 'you are my husband Dean,' or is that too plain?"

Jessica rolled her eyes, smiling up at him. "Let's just wrap it up and get back to the hotel. Sam and I want to go hiking up in the woods today."

"Hiking? In this weather?"

Jess shrugged. "We have coats."

"I believe frostbite wouldn't look very nice on my maid of honor."

Jess placed a hand on Castiel's shoulder, smiling one of her carefree smiles. "You don't have to worry about me. Your maid of honor will be in one piece at your wedding."

***

(2:13pm)

Cas stirred what was his second cup of coffee of the day, while he waited at the Westin's restaurant for Dean to join him for a very late lunch. Dean usually took his sweet time to get himself all "dolled up" just to step out into the public. Cas sighed, hoping Dean remembered they had their photo shoot later on in the day, and they should learn to be punctual.

Cas took a careful sip of his coffee before he noticed John walking into the restaurant. Cas looked up and waved at him, and John forced a smile on his face and walked up to him.

"Hello, sir," Cas said, formal as usual because Mary was the only one who'd asked him to call her by her first name. John didn't mind the "sir" at the end of every sentence.

"Castiel," John said, bobbing his head as if he didn't know what else to say to him. Cas didn't blame him. The two of them never really got to be alone much. Actually, the last time they had been alone, John had told him very quietly that even though he had no daughters, he had Dean, and if he was going to be with Cas, John would have to give him the customary speech. The point John wanted to get across as terrifying, which consisted of "If you hurt him I'll hurt you" really just made Cas chew on his cheeks to keep from laughing. John had patted his back and walked away from him.

Cas signaled the empty chair across him with his hand. "Please, have a seat, sir."

"Oh, alright." John sat down and picked up the menu from the table, covering up his face.

Cas looked down at his cup of coffee, trying to come up with a safe topic of conversation. "How is Mary doing? Is she on her way?"

John put down the menu, looking bored. "You know how women are."

Cas nodded, understandingly. "I've been waiting for Dean a few minutes myself."

John's face went rigid, and he stared back at Cas.

Cas cleared his throat uncomfortably. "So, the weather in Vancouver…?"

"Yes?"

"The weather, it's always, it's so cold."

"Right," John said slowly.

"I'm hoping the weather will be nicer on my wedding day," Cas said conveniently. He was running out of conversation, but the man wasn't running out of intimidation.

John grinned at that final sentence, picking up the menu again. "Sure it will. It's my big boy's wedding."

Cas smiled too, feeling some of the tension cooling off.

"You must be real special, Cas," John said, still looking down at the menu, but this time his face was uncovered. "My boy, Dean, spent most of his life being one person. The second he meets you he becomes this hardworking man ready to jump into marriage. Most surprising of all, he stops drinking." John turned to look at Cas now. "How the hell did you accomplish that?"

Cas tilted his head, trying to read John's expression. "Dean just grew up, sir. I didn't do anything extraordinary."

John twisted down the corners of his mouth. "Guess it was about time he found someone to settle down with."

Cas took another sip from his coffee. It was getting cold.

"I'm glad he chose to settle down with you," John muttered, and Cas blinked at him, trying to make sure he'd heard correctly. John was reading the menu again.

Cas smiled at him, even though the other man pretended not notice.

***

(6:13pm)

Charlie's photo shoot was being held at English Bay beach, which was stunningly beautiful. Castiel couldn't believe the sight in front of his eyes. He was incredibly thankful to Charlie for choosing to do the photo shoot in the afternoon so that they could catch the perfect sunset as their background.

Cas looked over to Dean, admiring the way they ended up looking primed and flawless. The sand kept getting in their shoes and Cas had to put up with Dean's complaints about his feet itching. Cas had never realized how many issues Dean had regarding his feet.

"That's it," Charlie said, snapping another round of picture. "Give me a big wide smile both of you. Dean that is starting to look like a cheap Ken-doll smile. Less teeth, more dimples. And let those freckles shine."

Dean glared back at Charlie. "I don't have any dimples."

"Cas, don't be afraid to get your hands all over your fiancé," Charlie continued. "Look at that fine piece of ass. Don't you just want to shove him up against a wall and—" Charlie snapped another picture when Castiel blushed. "Beautiful."

Dean turned to Cas, raising both his eyebrows. "Where did you get her from? A rack in a thrift-shop?"

"I heard that," Charlie called, looking through the pictures in her camera. "I have credentials, you know."

"Be nice," Cas said, running a hand through Dean's hair to smooth it out. "She's a professional."

Charlie walked up to them, raising the camera in her hands. "I think we have our shot, guys."

"Does that mean we can go now?" Dean asked, loosening his tie. "I want to get out of this suit."

Cas smiled at Charlie. "He's usually a lot nicer."

"I have a right to complain," Dean said, and then he looked at Charlie with a stubborn frown. "And she is too bossy."

"You just can't take anything," Charlie said, shifting the camera in her hands.

"You can't take anything," Dean said, grabbing Cas' hand. "Come on, Cas, let's go home."

Charlie chuckled, running up to Dean and taking him in a tight hug, and then she did the same with Cas, taking both of them by surprise. She pulled back and stared at both of them, smiling softly. "Thank you. I mean it. Not many people have given me a chance to photograph their wedding. No one, actually. I am equally nervous and thrilled and prepared. I just want both of you to know that I won't let you down. Every little bit of your wedding will be permanently remembered through my pictures."

Cas looked over to Dean, who didn't seem to be grumpy any longer. Cas smiled, more to himself, and squeezed Dean's hand.

Dean nodded, almost as if he'd been rendered speechless, but then he said "I will see you on Saturday." Dean looked down at his feet, fighting off a smile, but he couldn't resist it when he looked back up again. "I will be the one in white."

***

(9:27pm)

"Ash," Cas said, sitting up in bed, and muting the television. "Do you have the slightest idea where Dean has been going with Sam all this time?"

Ash yawned, shifting under the heavy blanket on the couch. "You really think I, of all people, would keep tabs on Dean from your hotel room? When I'm not here I'm with Sam, but they don't tell me anything."

Cas nodded. "Ash, are you sure you don't want me to find you a bed? That couch must not be all that comfortable."

"I told you, Cas, this is more than enough. I don't need fancy treatment. Besides, I'm supposed to be punished here, right?"

Cas grimaced. "No one is punishing you."

"Whatever, man." Ash yawned again. "There's nothing to do around here, so I'm gonna go to sleep."

"Would you like to watch a movie with me instead?" Cas offered.

Ash glanced at Cas, confused. "Are you talking to me?"

Cas smiled, patting the empty space on the king size bed besides him. "What kind of movies do you like? Dean loves a good horror film. I tend to stick with action or Disney movies."

"I guess if you don't think it's weird, I don't either," Ash said, lying down comfortably next to Cas.

"If you don't give me suggestions I will most likely choose Despicable Me."

Ash laughed, sitting up on the bed. "I'm more of a zombie enthusiast."

"Zombies it is."


	6. Thursday

THURSDAY

(8:32am)

"Cas? This is _unbelievable_. Cas, oh you are so dead. Ash, you son of a bitch. I'm gonna have to take some pictures of this."

Cas heard Dean's loud voice, but his foggy eyes wouldn't open. Cas kept hearing Dean's obnoxious camera noises, so he slowly opened his eyes. In front of him were a set of dirty socks covering a pair of feet. And as he looked down he noticed his arm was cradling the set of legs that belonged to none other than Ash.

"Smile,  _huggy bear_." Dean snapped another picture right before setting off on a very-loud-in-the-morning laughing fit.

Cas let go of Ash' legs, and tried to get up and out of bed, but as he looked down again he noticed how Ash had his set of legs in the same, if not more awkwardly, embrace. "Damn it. Dean, get him off of me."

Dean tried to control his breathing. He was so loud, and yet Ash remained deep asleep. "You sure you want that?"

Cas groaned, pulling Ash's arms away from his legs and feet, waking up the other man. Ash looked up, alarmed, his eyes scanning the ceiling for clues. He shot up as if he'd just realized he was late for something.

"Good morning, sunshine," Dean said, his fingers fast on the keypad of his phone. "Look at what the world is now enjoying." Dean turned the screen to Ash, and then to Cas, showing him all the different pictures he took of them.

Ash sent him a fiery glance. "You're going to pay for this, Dean."

"Hey," Dean said with an easy smile. "I'm not the one cuddling someone else's fiancé."

"It's your own fault for not coming to bed last night," Cas muttered, half-asleep.

"I stayed over at Sam's again," Dean said. "We got in _way_ too late. His room was closer and I was tired."

Cas sighed. "I'm going back to sleep, alright?"

Dean raced closer to Cas and held his arms, pulling him up from the bed. "No, sir, you need to get in the shower and get ready. There's someone who came to see you."

"Who?"

"I'm not allowed to tell."

"Dean," Cas complained, trying to drag himself back into bed, but he knew his fight was completely lost as Dean helped pick him up and out of bed, setting him down on his feet. Dean leaned in to kiss his cheek once before slapping his ass in the direction of the bathroom.

"Cas," Dean called after him, but Cas kept walking to the bathroom. "Just so you know, if you hear painful screaming, don't be scared. It's just me beating the hell out of Ash."

"Have fun with that," Cas mumbled, shutting the door behind him.

***

(10:02am)

"Why the sudden mystery anyway?" Cas asked Dean as they made their way down to the restaurant. "Am I going to be able to have some breakfast first?"

"Yeah, he's probably already eating."

"So he's a man."

Dean grinned. "As far as I know."

As they made their turn into the restaurant, which was more full than usual, Cas looked around the room until he caught sight of a familiar face. He tilted his face, unsure of whether he was still dreaming upstairs next to dirty socks.

Gabriel waved his hand at Dean and Cas, while chewing his food.

Cas looked at Dean questioningly before sitting down next to his little brother. "Hello, Gabriel."

"Hey, bro," Gabriel said, chewing off more of his bacon. "I resent not being personally invited to your wedding."

Gabriel had appeared at his doorstep once, during that miserable time he was without Dean, and he'd been happy to see his brother again. They didn't keep in touch much after that, though, because he didn't want to intrude on his brother's life. Gabriel seemed more than okay with that.

Cas opened his mouth to give Gabriel every excuse he was capable of making, but then he thought better, and settled for the truth. "I didn't think anyone from my family would be interested in attending my wedding."

Gabriel made a face, raising an eyebrow at Dean. "You're serious? Weddings are the best places to reunite family members, hence, my delightful presence in Vancouver."

Dean cleared his throat. "I invited him Cas. I know you said you didn't want any of them here, and that you didn't think they would want to come. But I had to call Gabe and Balthazar. It just didn't feel right for them not to be here."

Cas nodded at Dean, turning his attention back to Gabriel. "Balthazar has been ignoring my phone calls."

"I talked to Balthazar myself," Gabriel said, smiling. "He's still an asshole, eh? Told me he would show up Saturday 'cause he already bought you a gift. I decided to come because I miss my big bro, and there are lots of hot chicks in this area."

Dean rolled his eyes. "I see why you don't keep up with your family, Cas."

Cas didn't know how he felt about having his family around for his wedding, but he felt incredibly fortunate to have Dean on his side. He considered the trouble he went through to get in touch with his brothers, especially because Dean didn't quite get along with them.

Cas formed a tight grin. "Would you like to visit the city with Dean and in the afternoon?"

Gabriel widened his eyes. "Sure, man. That would be great. Two wing men are better than none."

"We are not going to help get you laid," Dean said.

Gabriel gave a side-smile. " _Please_ , I am the candy man. I don't need your help."

"You are a man with lots of candy," Dean said, "which is not the same thing."

"Apparently you aren't aware of the power of the candy, my friend."

"You're delirious."

"And you're jealous because you're tying the knot, which means no more flings for you."

Dean smiled at Cas. "Nope, and I'm okay with that."

Gabriel dropped his bacon back on his plate. "Ugh, gross, are you two going to eye-fuck right here while I'm eating?"

Cas stared back at Dean, the corners of his lips quirking up. "Yes."

***

(3:11pm)

Cas didn't expect to find everyone who'd come to Vancouver for their wedding thus far to be gathered in John and Mary's room. Yet here they all were here—even Gabriel. John and Mary sat side by side on the side of the bed. Chuck and Jo half-lied on the couch snuggled together. Ellen stood away from Ash, but somehow her body was tilted in his direction. Jess sat on the chair next to the bed, while Sam rested on the armrest of her chair.

"What's going on here?" Dean asked.

Cas stared at Sam. "Sam, why did you call us? Are we having a meeting?"

Sam nodded. "Yes, you could say that."

Gabriel moved from the corner of the room to sit next to John and Mary on the bed. "Turns out Dean's family were nice enough to include me in on their bachelor party planning."

"Bachelor party?" Dean asked, scrunching up his eyebrows.

"That's right, Dean," John said, grinning secretively with Mary.

Dean turned to Cas, shaking his head before turning back to the group. "Guys, Cas and I aren't the type of couple that need a bachelor party. We are perfectly happy about getting married."

Castiel smiled. As much as Dean claimed he wasn't the biggest fan of weddings, he had been the one who proposed, and he was the one who looked particularly contended about their upcoming marriage.

"I don't think you get the point of bachelor parties," Jo said.

"He doesn't get the point of anything," Sam said.

Dean glared at Sam, unblinkingly.

"I think a bachelor party is not such a bad idea," Cas said, to everyone's apparent surprise. Dean looked at him as if questioning Castiel's identity. "What? I've never had one before. I want the full experience."

"That's the spirit," Chuck pitched in.

"Sweetheart," Mary said, "I promise you these parties will be harmless, and you will enjoy yourself."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "Parties? We're having separate bachelor parties?"

"Of course!" Jessica said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the universe.

"Why?" Dean asked.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Would you shut up and let me tell you everything without interruptions?"

Dean sighed.

"We were thinking of splitting up in two groups," Sam continued. "The men going with Dean, and the girls with Cas. That was dad's idea."

Cas nodded, understandingly. John was just going with the "Winchester way."

Meanwhile, Dean was looking as offended as ever. "Dad, are you serious? Does my fiancé look like a girl to you? It's not fair to Cas to stick him with the girls."

"Hey," Ellen said, now herself offended.

"Dean, I love these women," Cas said, trying to lighten the mood. "I wouldn't mind having my bachelor celebration with them, honestly."

Dean frowned, shifting nervously on his feet before saying what was on his mind. "No, Cas, my dad has to understand."

"Dean," John said, annoyed. "Don't start with me. We're with family."

Mary took a deep breath. "Honey, I will talk to your father. Sam, would you please continue?"

Sam nodded. "So on Friday, after the rehearsal party, instead of doing the rehearsal dinner, we were thinking of going ahead and going to wherever we're going to go for the bachelor party."

Cas bit his lower lip. "Will there be strippers?"

Dean gasped. " _Castiel Winchester_. What is this?"

Cas felt his blood rushing to his cheeks. "I said I wanted the full experience."

Dean opened his mouth to protest some more, but then he leaned in closer and muttered "No lap dances."

Cas agreed to that, silently hoping he could get one of those in private from Dean sometime in the future.


	7. Friday

FRIDAY

(9:12am)

Cas barely had time to finish up his breakfast that morning as Jo found him and dragged him back upstairs to get ready for the rehearsal. Cas had picked out a navy blue dress shirt and a tie to go along with his slacks. For Dean, he'd chosen a nice sweater vest, which Dean didn't seem too against wearing.

The wedding rehearsal turned out to be the longest, most terrifying event in Castiel's entire life. And he'd gone to medical school. Jo turned out to be the wedding planner he never really wanted, and as much as he loved her, she was a perfectionist; therefore everything had to be in excellent order.

Jo paced around the park, hands in the air yelling "Cas, stand over there! No, not there. What are you doing? Dean, put your cell phone away, you are not that popular. Jess, you cannot be moving around so much. Is it really necessary to send Sam air kisses right now? Come on people work with me here."

Cas wanted to run away with Dean and just hide under the shade of one of the beautiful trees surrounding them. This would all be perfect tomorrow, though, right? It was normal for everything to be dreadful on the day before the wedding, but on the wedding day, things  _had_ to be okay. That was how it worked, wasn't it?

***

(1:37pm)

"Alright," Jo said, giving herself a round of applause. "We are done for the day. Tomorrow is the real deal, though, so  _be ready_. I want this wedding to be one of the greatest ones in the history of weddings."

Dean groaned. "Would you shut up already?"

Jo narrowed her eyes. "Excuse you, Dean, but I am taking care of business right now."

"Yeah, I know," Dean said. "It's my wedding. Chill out, dude. You don't see Cas and I throwing a big fuss over this. We rehearsed all morning. Now let's go eat all afternoon." Dean reached for Castiel's hand, but Jess stopped him, standing between them.

"What the hell?" Dean protested.

Jess smiled apologetically at both of them. "We're going to break into groups from now on. It's incredibly bad luck for a couple to see each other the day before the wedding. So say goodbye until tomorrow at the altar."

Cas grimaced. He didn't like these "luck" rules. Whoever came up with them, and why did they have to follow them? All he was looking forward to at the end of the day was to spend the night in bed with Dean. Now he wouldn't even have that because they couldn't see each other anymore?  _This is so rude,_ Cas thought.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Dean asked, staring at Cas.

Cas shrugged, reluctantly. "I suppose I'll see you again tomorrow."

"But…" Dean started, and immediately trailed off. He sighed, resigned. "Okay, whatever. I'll see you then. Just remember: no lap dances."

Cas smiled, walking closer to Dean. "None."

Dean wrapped his arms around his shoulders tightly, and Cas wrapped his around Dean's waist, taking in the soft fabric of his clothes, and the way they smelled of his cologne.

It would be a terribly long day and a tortuous night without him.

***

(3:41pm)

Cas grunted as he heard and felt the untying of his week-old knots that had built over his year-long ones. The stranger's massage was not as good as Dean's had been, but it was a close second. Cas realized that his bachelor party had been very pleasant so far. He was now lying comfortably in a white bed at the spa, next to Jessica and Jo. All he had left for his wedding was to relax.

"Mary and Ellen must be really enjoying their mud baths," Jessica said, smiling as her back cracked and cracked.

Cas exhaled deeply. "They're missing out on great massages."

Jo snorted. "They're big gossips, is all."

Cas turned his head to smile at Jo. "I could tell you put a lot of time and effort into the rehearsal. Thank you. I apologize for any inconveniences Dean and I caused you. We are a little stressed out and a lot nervous."

Jo wrinkled her forehead as her back cracked. "Dean doesn't bother me. You'd think I'd be tired of him by now, but I like his feisty attitude. He's not as sassy as that Sam, though."

Cas chuckled quietly. "No one could be as sassy as Sam."

***

(6:22pm)

"He leaves his underwear on the bathroom floor every day," Mary continued with the round table confessions about the men in their lives. "I have to chase him around the house for him to get him back in there and pick up his undies."

Ellen laughed, slamming her fist on the table. "That is good blackmailing material I'm gonna have to use on John."

Mary shook her head, smiling.

"It's my turn?" Jessica asked, looking around the table. "Alright, um, I caught Sam talking to his hair once. Yeah, I'm not joking. It was actually really, really cute. It was at night, and he thought I was already sleeping—and this was back when we recently moved in together—anyway, he was brushing his hair in the bathroom, and then he said 'You are growing so fast, I'm going to need to trim you real soon, buddy.' I had to hide my face in my pillow so he wouldn't hear me laughing."

Everyone busted into loud, melodic laughter. Cas held his stomach as it was starting to cramp due to laughing more than he ever had in his entire life combined.

"Cas," Jess said, wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes. "You're up. Tell us an embarrassing story about Dean."

Cas gulped, loosening the tie around his neck. He ran his hands up and down his non-alcoholic drink in front of him, trying to come up with something interesting to tell. He straightened up and smiled as soon as it hit him. "Okay, here goes. Dean and I went to the park one day, and I couldn't figure why he was so opposed to going at first. Well, we were just walking around a trail, when a tiny little Chihuahua comes up from behind us, apparently after having escaped its owner's leash. Dean started running away from the dog, scared out of his mind. He ran up to a bench and stood on top of it until the owner retrieved the dog."

Jo spilled some of her drink out of her mouth, while everyone else laughed breathlessly.

"Bachelor boy wins," Ellen said, raising her cup in the air. "To Cas."

"To Cas," everyone repeated.

Cas clicked his glass with theirs and finished his drink.

"Let's go find us some strippers now," Ellen said, slamming a few bills down on the table and picking up her heavy purse. "I got me a bunch of single in here."

***

(7:43pm)

"This is a den of iniquity," Cas shouted over the loud, pounding music. "I should  _not_  be here."

Jess shook her head, looking amused at the panicked face Cas was wearing. "We have been here for over an hour. You have to relax."

"I didn't know the strippers would be so sexual about their dancing," Cas admitted. It wasn't like he'd seen a stripper before in his life. He thought they were just attractive dancers. He was more or less right in his assumption.

Ellen returned to their table, laughing hysterically after having placed yet another single into an ecdysiast's tight underwear. "This is the best way I have ever spent my money."

"Come on Cas, loosen up!" Jo said, smiling. "Mom, hand me one of your dollars. I think Cas should take one to that tall one with the stripped undies."

Cas swallowed, feeling his throat dry, and shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "I don't think that would be such a good idea. What would Dean think?"

"Dean isn't here," Jo winked. "This is your bachelor party. Be a bachelor!"

Mary smiled calmly from her seat, sending him a warm look. "Dear, you do not have to do anything you don't feel comfortable with."

Cas looked around their table, then back at the dancers, especially the one with the stripped undies.  _You wanted the full experience, Cas, so go ahead and get it._

Jo offered Cas the single Ellen had given her, and Cas took it, gulping down his fear and standing up. He took a few steps closer to the stage, where wild girls were screaming their lungs out, which simply wasn't healthy. Cas looked back to the table, where the girls watched him anxiously. Cas fisted his hands and approached the stage.

The dancer in the stripped underwear noticed him, sending him a daring smile, and then he turned his back to him, giving his own ass a slap. Cas flinched, blinking at the man who stepped back and shook his trousers mercilessly in front of him. He seemed to want Cas to place that dollar bill right in between the others. Cas extended his dollar, steadying his shaking hand.

The ecdysiast made this task extremely difficult, for he wouldn't stop shaking his ass in rapid movements. Cas had grown tired of waiting for him to steady, and simply held his back with his free hand to keep him still while he buried the bill behind the fabric of his stripped underwear. The dancer turned his head to his side and winked at Cas, continuing his shaking. Cas nodded politely at the man, not wanting to be rude.

Cas' heart was beating fast with excitement as he walked back to the table. Everyone cheered at him, as if he'd accomplished the impossible, and Cas sat back down, wearing a small smile.

"Do you want me to arrange a lap dance with the guy?" Ellen asked, laughing hard. "Dean doesn't have to know."

Cas shook his head. "I think I've had enough interaction with exotic dancers for my lifetime. I am now ready to wed."

"Lover boy has lived it all," Ellen shouted, digging in her purse and pulling out another stack of singles. "Good thing I still haven't."

***

(11:31pm)

Jo, Mary, Ellen and Jess had all fallen so deep into sleep, they were gracefully snoring. Cas had been the only one who'd declined all the alcohol beverages. He'd promised Dean once that he wouldn't drink a single sip of alcohol if Dean didn't either, and he intended on keeping that promise.

Somehow, everyone managed to fit perfectly on the bed, very tightly, as it appeared, but Cas took a deep breath as he eyed the couch in the room, the only vacant space to sleep in. He walked over to it and made himself comfortable. This would be a long night.

Cas opened his eyes after having drowsed to sleep for a few minutes, as he heard the quiet thud on the door. He wrinkled his forehead, feeling lazy in the little ball he'd made of himself on the couch, wishing the visitor would simply leave so he wouldn't have to get up.

The thud continued, and Cas budged, cursing in his mind as he made his way to the door, placing on his fuzzy slippers and trenchcoat to cover up his pajamas. Cas opened the door, making sure to show his clear annoyance at being disturbed.

Dean stood on the hallway, sending Cas his biggest smile—the one usually reserved for nighttime when they were alone and in bed together.

"Dean," Cas muttered, debating on whether to shut the door on him or not. "I thought we weren't supposed to see each other. Should I turn away?"

Dean rolled his eyes, rocking on his heels playfully. "I came to kidnap you."

Cas narrowed his eyes, cocking his head to the side. "What are you up to?"

Dean smiled wider, shrugging. "I found a place. I want to take you there right now."

"What? No, we're supposed to be sleeping right now, Dean. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. I thought this was bad luck, and you can say I am being absurd by believing in this, which I don't, but perhaps—"

Cas didn't see it coming, as Dean pulled him out of the room and slammed him against the wall in the empty hallway. One second Dean's hands were on his hips, gripping desperately at them inside his trenchcoat, his tongue sliding deep inside his mouth, and the next, Dean was shoving his hips rhythmically against Cas, making him gasp and tangle his hands on Dean's hair. Dean wouldn't let Cas breathe for much more than half a second, as he took his mouth again with his lips, offering small velvet kisses after rough passionate ones. Cas hated to admit it, but he was melting at Dean's mercy.

When Dean finally pulled away, Castiel felt like falling on his knees, weakened of his strength. Dean held him tightly, chuckling quietly in his ear.

"Are your legs tingly enough this time?" Dean whispered.

Cas nodded his head, unable to come up with coherent words.

"Good," Dean said, seemingly pleased. "Are you coming?"

Cas nodded again, feeling numb as he followed Dean down the hallway, and then up a set of stairs that seemed to be for emergencies only, but in his haze he didn't really care. Dean opened a door at the end of the stairs, and they found themselves at the rooftop of the Western hotel, in which the only thing offering a source of light was a large swimming pool.

Dean led Cas to the chairs aligned across from the swimming pool, lying down on one of them. Cas did the same, wincing a little at the coldness traveling through the thin fabric of his pajama bottoms as his legs touched the chair. Cas watched Dean, realizing that Dean was watching the night sky above them. Cas followed Dean's gaze, folding his hands on top of his belly as he registered the graceful moon surrounded by countless stars.

"You're beautiful," Dean murmured.

Cas turned to look at him, but Dean was already watching him intently, and nothing but sincerity was on his face. Cas couldn't help smiling like an idiot after hearing those words coming out of Dean's lips.

Dean grinned, and it was stunning even in the darkness of the night. "What?"

"You've never said that to me before."

"Sure I have."

"No," Cas said patiently. "You've said I'm sexy, hot and many other things alike, but never that."

Dean blinked, raising his eyebrows in clear surprise. "Huh. I didn't know that."

"Yeah."

Dean gazed into Castiel's eyes, and Cas wondered if this was why Dean became so nervous every time he studied Dean this carefully. "Thanks. For pointing that out I mean. I want you to always tell me things like that. You notice much more than I do. It's nice."

"I love you."

Dean sighed, got up from the chair and walked next to Cas, extending his hand in front of him until Cas took it, and Dean pulled him up and into his arms. Cas didn't understand the whole point of this action, especially when Dean started swaying them slowly in the same place.

"What are you doing?" Cas finally asked.

" _Tonight we're the sea and the rhythm there_ ," Dean sang in quiet murmurs against his ear.

Cas shivered, remembering the first time Cas played that song for Dean on the piano, and the events that transpired after that moment.

" _The waves and the wind and night is black_ ," Dean continued, pressing soft kisses below Cas' ear.

Cas pressed closer to Dean, tightening his hands around him, and setting his chin against Dean's shoulder.

Dean continued swaying them at a slow pace, humming parts of the lyrics and singing the others. " _Your hands they move like waves over me. Beneath the moon, tonight, we're the sea_."

Cas felt Dean unwrapping his arms around him only to hold his hand and spin him around. Cas went along with it, and when he made the full turn, Dean smiled sweetly at him, swaying them some more.

"You're very easy on your feet," Cas whispered close to Dean's ear.

Dean gave a quiet laugh, humming the rest of their song.


	8. The Wedding

SATURDAY

(10:09am)

Cas watched as his hung-over friends popped aspirins one after the other. As a doctor, he felt in charge of providing a remedy to their pain. He pushed away his half-eaten breakfast in order to start getting ready.

"I feel like shit," Jo said, walking closer to the bathroom. "Why the hell did I have that last beer?"

"You should all be ashamed," Cas said, pulling out his tuxedo from where it was stored in the closet. "You don't want Ash or Dean to continue drinking, but you still drink yourselves." Cas looked at Jo, Ellen, and Jess since Mary had been the only other one who'd declined the alcoholic beverages.

"We were celebrating," Ellen said, gulping down her bottle of water.

"Cas," Jo said, stepping in the bathroom. "Right after I puke, I'm going to get ready and get in touch with Becky to make sure everything's going fine. Alright?"

"Yes, that would be very helpful, thank you, Jo."

Jessica took a forceful breath as she got out of the bed, her hair a rumbled mess. "I will go back to my room and then check up on Dean. I'll get back to you with the news."

Cas nodded, changing out of his clothes and into his tuxedo.

Jo left the room with Jess and Ellen went along with them, since they all had to get ready as well. Mary was the only one who stayed with Cas, helping him with the finishing touches. She smiled at him as she straightened his bowtie for him, leaning down to kiss his forehead tenderly.

Cas felt an unexpected knot in his throat that became rather uncomfortable. "Thank you, Mary, for being here for me right now. I…I've never had anyone like you in my life before."

Mary kept smiling, wrapping him in her arms and holding him only like a mother would. It felt so right to have that feeling again, after so many years, after not really remembering the last time he was hugged this way before. She pulled back and held his face between her hands. "Castiel, I will always be by your side, watching and protecting you just as I would do with my two sons. You are as much mine now as they are."

Castiel opened his mouth to say something in return, but he felt ashamed at wanting to cry during this moment. He fought his tears and Mary only held his face more securely.

"You are the most handsome groom I have ever seen," Mary said, laughing a little after that. "Don't tell John or Dean, or even Sam whenever he gets married to Jess because we all know it's going to happen soon enough."

Cas smiled, bashful. "Thank you, again. I do hope to see them married sometime."

Mary let go of his face and turned to leave, telling him she had to get ready, but most importantly, she had to make sure John would be ready.

Cas looked in the mirror, breathing in and out, trying not to dwell so much on the fact that he was getting married today, in a matter of time. He knew he had to feel a certain way about it, but he didn't know what that was. He was content, of course he was, but most of all, he was ready. He had been ready for this for a very long time.

***

(11:28am)

Jess let herself in to Cas' room, looking gorgeous in the dress she clearly loved. She looked completely sober now somehow, and she nearly squealed at the sight of Cas completely ready to get married. She approached him and held his hands and made him jump in place with her, though he really didn't know why they were doing that.

She paused, widening her eyes. "I completely forgot why I came in here. Dean is looking just as good as you. And your car is ready downstairs. Let's go!"

"Oh. Now? But I—"

"Let's go, Cas. You can't be late for your wedding."

"How's the weather?" Cas asked. If there had been one thing Cas had to have right at his wedding was the weather. He'd been a nervous wreck the moment it hit him that his dream wedding at the beautiful Queen Elizabeth park meant having an outdoor wedding, which would depend entirely on Vancouver's weather.

Jess smiled. "It's wedding weather, now walk with me. Come on."

Cas checked his pocket for the ring, which rested inside a small box. He felt its presence there and walked with Jess to the car.

"Who else is riding with us?" Cas asked, looking at the driver Jo managed to hire just to drive him to his wedding. Apparently, driving himself wasn't okay.

"Looks like Gabriel," Jo said, pointing in the direction of Cas' little brother.

Gabriel climbed inside the car. "Got room for one more?"

"We're ready to go," Jessica told the driver.

Cas folded his hands nervously in his lap. "What about everybody else?"

"They will get there on time," Jess assured him. "Don't fret, you look ravishing."

"Gotta hand it to you, Cas," Gabriel said, nodding his head in agreement. "You look real nice."

"As do you," Cas said in return, admiring momentarily the suit his brother was wearing. It was the most formal he'd ever seen him.

Cas grew anxious and nervous as the seconds ticked by and the car drove them closer to their destination. He shut his eyes to try to calm down, feeling his head spinning all of a sudden. He knew it was all in his head. He was overreacting. He had absolutely no need to be nervous, yet he chose to be.

It was a matter of decisions. Like his entire life. This was the part where he truly became a man and married the man he loved.

"We're here," Jess announced, opening the door on her side and stepping out.

Cas followed after her, walking with her and Gabriel down the path that led to the garden in which the ceremony would be held. Castiel could see the beautiful roses and calla lilies adorning the trail that led to the altar from the moment they rounded the corner to the garden. The heavy scent of all the various flowers was so strong in the air, the entire atmosphere smelled heavenly.

Cas stopped to take in the sight of the wonderful garden that now had rows of white covered chairs, flower arrangements perfectly in place, and a huge long arch wrapped with blue cornflowers, camellias and even sunflowers. There was so much spring, so much life, and so much beauty.

There were guests filling up the rows of chairs, which he hadn't paid much attention to. Cas looked up above him instead, squinting his eyes at the sunlight, but smiling at the clear blue sky. It truly was wedding weather. This was happening. It was finally happening.

Jess stood next to him, staring at him with a smile plastered on her face. "Is this what you pictured for your wedding day?"

"It's more than I could have ever hoped for."

Chuck approached him then, with a Bluetooth and an electronic tablet. He seemed to be engaged in a conversation with the people decorating the ball room. Jo walked up to them, and Cas was surprised to see that Mary and John had just already arrived. His stomach twisted into knots, unsure of what his heart rate would be like whenever Dean arrived.

Chuck ended his phone call and he and Jo stood excitedly in front of Cas. "So," Chuck said slowly. "What do you think?"

Cas looked ahead of them, feeling surreal at the sight of his wedding. "It is magnificent."

Jo cheered, bowing significantly. "You are very welcome, then. You should know that from now on you will be like another brother to me, which means you will be bothered just as much as Ash, Dean and Sam."

Cas grinned. "I will be honored to be considered your brother."

Chuck talked to his Bluetooth some more, and then pulled Cas away from Jess and Jo, walking him down the aisle. "There are some people here that told me to take you to them as soon as you arrived."

Cas nodded his head, waving at the people he passed by which consisted mostly of Dean's relatives and Castiel's coworkers. Chuck took him to the front row, where Cas stood in front of two extremely unexpected guests.

"Dad? Mom?" Cas blurted out. He turned to where Chuck had been standing a second ago, but he'd disappeared. The two people in front of him hadn't.

His dad, white beard and all, stood motionless in front of him. His mom blinked at him, a fresh shade of red rushing to her cheeks. Cas had never felt his parents' existence to be as real as they felt now.

Cas extended his hand, which his dad immediately took, followed by his mom's. The Novaks were much different than the Winchesters, and not in a good way, as much as he claimed to dislike the "Winchester Way." In the Winchester family there was clear, abundant, selfless love to go around, but in the Novak family, there was just cold glances and tight smiles.

"Hello, Castiel," his father, Emanuel, said after a moment of awkward silence.

"What are you doing here?" Castiel asked, unable to keep the question to himself any longer. "How did you even know I'm getting married?"

His mom grinned at him, and Castiel didn't know just how to react to that. "Dean contacted us through Balthazar a few months ago."

Cas couldn't process the trouble Dean must have gone through to get that far. How much more could he love that man?

"I thought you were opposed to who I am," Cas said quietly, feeling his palms growing sweaty. "I never thought you would agree to come, which is why I never called."

Emanuel laughed shortly, which was a rare sound to Cas. "You're still a doctor, aren't you? We've been keeping tabs on you through Balthazar. He seems to believe you're happy." He shrugged. "Sometimes that's all that has to matter. The man you're marrying, Dean, he's a straight-forward guy. There's not that many left in this world."

Cas wrinkled his eyebrows. How could any of this be real? Could this only be a dream? How were things possibly fitting together like perfect puzzle pieces on what was slowly becoming the greatest day of his life?

"Castiel, my darling," Balthazar said, appearing from behind him. "I see you've already seen mom and pops."

"Nice family reunion," Gabriel said. "What have I missed?"

"Gabriel," Emanuel said, and Cas could almost hear a hint of affection in his voice.

Cas had to sit down. It had become too much for him to take in all at once. This was his wedding day. He was about to vow his love to his future husband. He had to pull himself together.

Chuck appeared as soon as he'd disappeared before, announcing that Dean had just arrived, and like a true diva, he was late.

Cas smiled, standing up and staring at his family as they all stood together for the first time in years. "You'll have to excuse me, but it's time for me to get married."

"Have at it, bro," Gabriel said, placing an arm amiably around Balthazar.

Cas went to stand in front of the colorful arch, besides the woman who would ordain their wedding, Pamela Anderson. She wore a long silver dress, revealing a few tattoos around her body.

Pam smiled at him, nodding her head reassuringly. "You look very handsome."

Charlie was at the end of the aisle, her camera tight in her hands. She snapped a picture of Cas before giving him a thumbs up for approval.

Cas smiled and let out a breath he'd been holding back for God knows how long. Cas looked around the garden, and every chair had been filled up, every guest waited along with him. Mary, John, Ellen, Ash, Jo and Chuck now sat on the front row opposite his parents. Jess and Sam came down the short trail leading up the arch first, just as they'd practiced. They stood at his sides.

There was no music playing, there were no other sounds apart from the birds singing on top of the trees, as if they'd been aware there was a celebration taking place. Cas took in a sharp breath as he spotted Dean in his gloriously white suit, with his matching oxford white shoes, and his unmistakably white smile.

Dean made his way to Castiel, and in that moment, there were no labels needed in their own little world. They were simply Dean and Castiel.

Cas grinned, beaming with overwhelming joy. Dean revealed a single red rose as soon as he stood in front of him, and handed it to him. Cas felt so close to crying again, but Dean was happy, so happy, that he willingly indulged in that feeling himself.

"Ready?" Pam whispered.

Dean licked his lips, sighing peacefully. "Yes."

"Alrighty then," Pam said, clearing her throat, opening the book in her hands. "The step which you are about to take is the most important into which human beings can come. It is a union of two people founded upon mutual respect and affection. Your lives will change, your responsibilities will increase, but your joy will be multiplied if you are sincere and earnest with your pledge to one another."

Cas held his gaze with Dean until Pam paused, glancing at both of them.

"Now you may say your vows," she allowed.

Cas smiled. "I'll go first."

Dean's eyes followed Cas' hands as they reached inside his tux and pulled out the folded piece of paper in which he'd drafted his vows. There was a lot of scribbling, so he would most likely have to improvise.

Cas breathed in through his nose, and then locked his eyes with Dean once again. "Dean, the day I met you, there was a part of me that felt I'd always known you. Before you delivered my first onion pizza, there had been many other pizza delivery men at my front door. I must point out that some were even taller than you." Dean chuckled, and so did a lot of the guests. Cas swallowed and his throat felt dry, but he kept going. "I didn't make anything of them. They were merely there fulfilling their job requirements. But you were more than that from the start. I looked at you, and there was an immediate thought in my head that told me I had to keep you. I remember you had that coy look on your face, the one you have right now as I am saying this, and just as I feel now, I wanted to kiss it away. I wanted to meet the Dean I now know.

"I don't know what I did in my life to deserve you, to be standing here in front of you, at the place I always pictured I'd get married. I can't help but feel an infinite pride in my heart for being able to call you completely mine from now on." Cas looked at his feet, taking a nervous breath, then back up at Dean, who was smiling bright and easy. "These are probably more words than I've ever spoken in one go, but there is something about looking at you right now that is making my rambling feel right. I promise I'll watch over you each day of your life. I love you more than you will ever truly comprehend. So much that at times, I get this sense of being in a never-ending daydream." Cas pulled out his ring and placed slid it on Dean's fourth finger.

Dean's smile faded, and Cas couldn't understand why, until he realized Dean was struggling to hold back the tears that had welled up in his eyes.

Cas bit at his lower lips as it started to tremble with the tears his own eyes started to produce. They weren't done. They had to wait until they were married to bawl their eyes out.

"Cas," Dean said with a rough voice, since he'd been just seconds away from crying. "Sometimes I think back to my past, and I can't believe that used to be my life. I'm not sure what I was doing with myself before I met you. It feels like I went to hell and somehow you pulled me out of there, like only an angel would do. You rescued me from my own fiery pit, and I never really knew why. It was one thing for me to love you, but what I never understood was why you loved me in return. I still don't, and I will always hope you never realize I'm nothing special. In the meantime, I will keep loving you and cherishing all the love that you offer me. Every look and kiss you give me gets stored into my mind as proof and reminder that you belong to me. And every day you spend with me I am being rescued from the hell I never want to visit again. Cas, baby, I need you. I've needed you my whole life." Dean placed his ring on Cas' fourth finger and lifted up his hand to kiss the back of it very delicately.

"By the power invested in me," Pam said loudly, "I now pronounce you wedded husbands. You may kiss and hug and all that great stuff."

Cas leaned in, and Dean met him halfway so that their lips came together in a soft and loving kiss. Cas cupped Dean's face in his hands, and the rose tickled onto Dean's cheek. Dean pressed soft hands on his hips, pulling him closer.

Cas heard the applauses, the cheering, the wonderful acknowledgement of their profound bond as the two became one, forevermore.

***

"Dean, you had my ring engraved?"

Dean looked down, almost bashful. "It's really corny, but I couldn't help myself."

"Don't ever change, my angel," Cas read the fine carvings into his silver ring. He looked up at Dean, pressing a long chaste kiss to his lips.

Dean smiled from point east to west. "Does that mean you like it?"

Cas nodded. "I could get used to being called your angel."

Dean walked him to the ballroom, smiling nervously on the outside of the place.

Cas raised an eyebrow. "Aren't we going in yet?"

"I have a surprise for you," Dean said.

Cas narrowed his eyes, warily. "What surprise?"

"I've been working hard on it. Every night for the past week."

Something clicked in Cas' brain. "Is that why you kept leaving with Sam?"

Dean bit his lower lips, nodding. "I don't want to make false promises and pretend you're going to love this, but I will tell you now that I don't care if I make a fool of myself or if this gives Sam more reason to tease the romantic side of me. You deserve this, and so much more, Cas."

Cas gulped. "Dean."

"Are you ready?"

Cas nodded, and Dean took his hand, opening the big doors that led them inside the precious ballroom that looked just as spectacular as his ceremony had. The flowers. So many flowers that he loved. So many colors. But he didn't have time to register the place because his eyes were centered on Dean, and even though the room was full of people who loved them both, his eyes wouldn't divert elsewhere.

Jo hurried to place one a chair in the middle of the empty dance floor and Cas somehow landed there. He watched as Dean went up the stage, where Sam already was standing with an electric guitar in his hands. Dean picked up an acoustic guitar from where it previously rested, and placed it around him, tightening the strap. Sam handed him a guitar pick, and Dean came forth to tap on the microphone.

Cas looked bewildered. There were so many questions in his mind. The scene in front of him was one he'd never given any consideration to. A band of two made up of Dean and Sam? Since when? What the hell was going on? Was Dean, the self-conscious-about-his-voice Dean, going to sing in public? Was this why Dean told him he would make a fool of himself? And more importantly, how could this much happiness come to a person so undeservingly?

Harry—from the Ghostfacers—suddenly took place behind the drum set. Dean looked back questioningly at Sam, but Sam only nodded reassuringly.

Dean cleared his throat into the microphone, and looked around the room, his gaze stopping on Cas. Dean fidgeted with the guitar pick in his hand. "I didn't know how to play guitar until, maybe two weeks ago."

Of course he didn't. Cas had asked him about his musical interests once and Dean had told him he didn't really have the patience to learn.

"I guess we'll see if I learned by now," Dean said. He laughed nervously, and Cas wanted nothing more than to hug him. "This one's for you, Cas." Dean locked eyes with him again before looking where his fingers found the right cords on his guitar.

Cas straightened up on his chair, smiling encouragingly. He folded his hands on his lap and waited patiently as Dean and Sam began.

"It is the springtime of my lovin'," Dean sang, and his voice, just as the night before, was mesmerizing. "The second season I am to know. You are the sunlight in my growing, so little warmth I've felt before. It isn't hard to feel me glowing. I watched the fire that grew so low."

Cas recognized this song. It was one of his favorites by Led Zeppelin. The Rain Song was the first song Dean played for him when he introduced him to classic rock. It had grown to be both their favorites.

And now Dean was performing it for him and Castiel was a wreck.

Harry played the drums after the second round of instrumentals, and Dean seemed surprised at his abilities. Dean looked back to Cas and winked at him, pressing up closer to the microphone to continue onto the second verse. Cas wasn't sure if Dean was aware of his magnitude of talent. Or Sam, for that matter.

"It is the summer of my smiles. Flee from me Keepers of the Gloom. Speak to me only with your eyes. It is to you I give this tune. Ain't so hard to recognize, these things are clear to all from time to time."

Cas watched, flabbergasted, as Dean shut his eyes and gave himself entirely over to the music, with such outstanding passion.

"Ah, I've felt the coldness of my winter. I never thought it would ever go. I cursed the gloom that set upon us, but I know that I love you so. But I know that I love  _you_  so."

When Dean finished the song, ending perfectly, just as his entire performance, Cas walked up to the stage as the round of applause and standing ovations began. Dean moved the guitar and placed it safely back on the stand. Cas pulled Dean tight into his arms as tears streamed down his face shamelessly. His fingers clung onto Dean's back because he couldn't be sure enough of his existence. Not today.

Dean whispered soothing words into his ear, rubbing both hands on his back.

"I love you, I love you, Dean. I love you and you're all mine."

"I am, baby, and you're mine."

***

Cas and Dean were approached by their guests, and were filled with kind words congratulating them.

Bobby was one of the last ones, and he had at his side a beautiful young-looking woman. "Well done, kid."

Dean smiled as Bobby placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks, Bobby."

"Cas," Bobby said, looking him straight in the eyes. "You won yourself a lottery with Dean here."

Cas sighed, prideful. "I'm well aware, Dr. Singer."

"Call me Bobby," he said, and then signaled to the woman beside him. "Boys, this is Jody Mills, my future wife."

Jody smiled and took both Dean and Cas in for a hug with all comfort. "You boys radiate your love. It's blinding!"

Cas immediately liked her.

A few moments later, Cas' parents approached them and they both shook hands with Dean.

"I'm afraid we have a plane to catch, son," Emanuel said, not seemingly apologetic. Cas couldn't ask for more, though.

His mom smiled, looking over at Dean. "You seem like the adequate fit for Castiel. I wish you both a long life of happiness."

"Thank you, Mrs. Novak," Dean said, much too formally.

"Send us postcards," Cas said.

Emanuel shook hands with Cas again, offering a small grin in return. "Perhaps a visit to our house in England would do you both good. On a holiday. We could make it an event."

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Sure. I'm up for visiting England. What do you say, Cas?"

Cas was rendered speechless, but he was able to nod his head.

Dean smiled, unaware of the strange phenomenon that'd just occurred. "We're in."

Emanuel nodded once. "Very well. We will send with the details."

Castiel's parents exited the ballroom and all he could do was look at Dean's giddy face to relax.

***

"No fucking way!" Dean cried as he stood in front of the stacks of assorted pies. "Am I in heaven? I am, aren't I? Of course I am, since I married an angel. Where are the forks?"

Cas laughed. "Wait until you see our dinner."

Adam walked into the ballroom, and so did his set of servers, dressed in suits and gowns, with his restaurant logo sown onto them. They served the food in what looked like silver platters, and Dean shook his head in disbelief.

" _Cheeseburgers?_  Fucking pie? How the hell did I get so lucky?"

"Angel powers," Cas reminded him.

Dean nodded, understandingly. "Yeah, yeah, I see. Let's go eat now. Our first meal as a married couple. Is that supposed to be significant? Would you mind if I attack my food?"

"Have at it, Dean."

***

Cas was pulled towards the dance floor by Dean when Kevin, the DJ, played The Sea and The Rhythm for them. Better yet, when Jo cued him to play their wedding song.

Dean pulled Cas tight, and they swayed just like they had on the rooftop. "Just like we practiced."

"Hmm," Cas said, leaning closer to Dean, wrapping both his arms around Dean's neck.

"Do you remember the night you played me this song on the piano?"

Cas laughed quietly into Dean's ear. "Every moment of it."

"You were so fascinated with the discovery of the song that you had to learn to play it. So you put it on in the background, and your fingers did magic on the keys of the piano."

"And then you stared at me and allowed me to play only until the second verse."

"Because I couldn't resist kissing your lips."

Cas smiled. "My lips and my neck, and every other part of my body."

"The song kept playing even though I made you stop."

"And I threw you on the bed because by then I had become too excited."

Dean kissed Castiel's temple tenderly. "And we stayed there all night long."

"We were the sea and the rhythm."

***

(6:51pm)

Cas followed Dean to say goodbye unexpectedly to his parents. He hadn't been aware that their stay in Canada would end tonight. Cas didn't mind it so much.

Dean tapped her shoulder to grab her attention, where she was sitting entirely engaged in conversation with Ellen. "Mom, Cas and I have to go already."

"Why so soon, dear?"

"We have somewhere to be," Dean said quietly.

Mary's face was clear with understanding and she smiled at both of them. "In that case, let me kiss you both goodbyes until I see you again." She did, and then she cried a little at their apparent happiness.

Throughout the day, many of their guests had pointed out how completely happy they both looked, and Cas was aware of how he felt, but it seemed to be contagious.

"I'll let Sam and everyone else know you left," Mary said, waving them away. "Go on. Go have your honeymoon."

Cas hugged her again, unable to resist it, though she didn't seem to mind. "Thank you, Mary."

"Thank you, Castiel, for making my son so happy."

"Alright, we seriously have to go now," Dean hurried. "We just need to change out of these clothes."

"What about our bags?" Cas wondered.

"All packed and ready for takeoff."

"How?"

"Don't worry, Cas, I packed in your fuzzy slippers."

Cas grinned. "Good."


	9. The Honeymoon

SUNDAY

(12:38am)

"I hate flying," Dean complained, tightening the grip on Castiel's hand. "I hate long flights the most."

"Dean, why are we going to Arizona anyway?" Cas asked, hoping Dean would finally reveal some of his surprise.

"You will see when we get there."

Cas rolled his eyes. "I'm going to sleep then."

"No, no, no, no. Wait until I fall asleep first. Please?"

Cas rubbed the back of Dean's hand with his thumb soothingly. "Okay, just relax. Here, rest your head on my shoulder and I'll keep your warm and cozy. Come on. It'll be easier that way."

Dean took Cas up on his offer without hesitation, and Cas was pleased to feel Dean's breathing stabilizing. He kissed Dean's head where it rested close to his lips and wrapped an arm around him to make him feel secure.

***

(3:12am)

"I have a reservation under the name Winchester-Novak," Dean told the woman at the front desk.

Cas blinked at him, fearing he was the one suffering from a hearing deficiency this time.

The woman smiled politely. "Sure, Mr. Winchester-Novak. Here are your keys. You'll be at the top floor in the honeymoon suite. And congratulations."

Cas wrapped an arm around Dean's as they made their way to the elevators.

"Name suits me, don't you think so?" Dean asked.

"I must admit that eighty percent of me was simply joking about the change of names," Cas muttered.

Dean ran a hand through Cas' hair, which had gotten messier on the plane. "I like the twenty percent of you that was serious about it."

Cas grinned, pressing his tired face closer to Dean. "Winchester-Novak."

"Novak-Winchester," Dean whispered.

***

As with the ballroom before, Cas paid little attention to his surroundings as they entered their room. His eyes focused on Dean, on the abundance of joy in their systems, so obvious and free.

Dean kissed down his jaw unrushed, as he removed his own shirt, proceeding with Castiel's. Dean's lips moved to Cas' lips as he worked to remove his blue jeans, careful not to break from their kiss. Cas' hands lowered down Dean's sides until they made it to his jeans, and he swiftly unbuttoned and unzipped them, letting them drop to the floor, followed by his boxers.

Cas pressed his freed erection to Dean's, emitting a loud, desperate groan from him. Cas tied the fingers of one hand on Dean's hair, while his other hand took a firm grasp of Dean's hard-on. With a few strokes, Dean whimpered, and the hands on Cas' back curled in delight. Cas kissed Dean's neck, down to his shoulder, with absolutely no rush in the process. He allowed for Dean and himself to savor every kiss and every bite.

Cas moved Dean backwards to the large bed behind them, and Dean lied down, Cas following on top of him. Their kiss hadn't ended yet, even though they would have many more nights ahead of them to love each other. Cas would make sure Dean felt as if this night was everlasting, because in his mind it would be.

"Dean," Cas gasping for breath.

Dean's eyes fluttered shut again at the sound of Cas' voice. "Cas, baby."

"I love you, Dean."

Dean reached up to press their lips together again, pulling his face closer and closer until there was no empty space between them. "I love you," he murmured.

Cas gave a long lasting kiss on Dean's lips before climbing off the bed to search for the necessary supplies. Dean had packed their bottle of lube and set of condoms at the very top of their carry-on bag. Cas laughed at the discovery, making his way back to the bed.

Dean smiled at Castiel's laughter, placing both his hands behind his head as he waited for Cas to apply on the materials. Cas eyed Dean curiously, and instead of placing the condom on himself, he took a hold of Dean's stiff cock and rolled it on. Dean rose up to his elbows, watching attentively as Cas covered his dick with lubricant. "I don't think condoms are needed with us anymore."

Cas looked at Dean, admiring the way his hair was still in perfect condition, even after the six hour flight, entirely unlike Castiel's. "I don't think so either."

"We can keep it for the first round," Dean said, smirking.

Cas leaned in to kiss him softly before handing him the bottle of lube, lying flat on his back.

Dean regarded him seriously, as if he couldn't believe he finally had him all to himself, just waiting for Dean to do as he pleased with him. Dean kneeled on the bed in front of Cas, applying a generous amount of lube on his fingers, and Cas opened up his legs, allowing for entrance. Dean's eyes widened and he grinned enthusiastically as one of his fingers made their way slowly inside Castiel.

Cas bit at his lower lips, resisting the urge to close his eyes with the pleasure running through his body. "Keep going," Cas encouraged, locking eyes with Dean.

Dean's eyes were soft, and before another finger slid in through his opening, Dean grabbed one of Cas' hands and intertwined their fingers with his free hand. "Is that good?"

Cas nodded, rocking his hips in pace with the way Dean's hand began moving. Cas felt Dean insert another finger, making the pain overcome with pleasure and Cas moaned Dean's names repeatedly, anxious to feel him inside again already.

Dean obeyed his command, scooting far closer and removing all of his fingers at once. Cas cringed at the emptiness inside him until it was replaced by the thickness of Dean's cock. It slid in without difficulty and Cas reached up with his free hand to pull Dean's lips back to his. Dean gasped as they started moving, slowly at first and then fast and rhythmically.

Cas watched as the green in Dean's eyes darkened with desire, and every line in his face cleared up. Dean pressed their foreheads together, as his movements became rapid and slow at once, and Cas recognized he was close.

"I've got you, baby," Cas whispered, kissing on Dean's face.

Dean collapsed against him as he came inside him. Cas expected Dean to rest, but instead he slipped back onto his knees, removing himself carefully from Castiel. Dean smirked at Cas, right before taking him whole in his mouth.

Cas panted so loud it would have been embarrassing if he didn't feel so comfortable with Dean—his husband. "Dean!" he shouted. Cas felt his head spinning as he felt the familiar sense of wonderful release escape him.

Dean kissed all the way up his chest, leaving a few bite marks on the way. He finally bit at Cas' lower lip lazily, since they were both now in their after sex sleepy phase. Dean ran a hand through Cas' hair again, chuckling in his ear. "You should get an award for the best sex hair."

"You would be the only one to thank for it," Cas murmured.

Dean somehow pulled out the blanket and sheets from underneath them in order to tuck him into bed. Cas closed his eyes, feeling a set of arms pulling him close under the blankets, and some velvet kisses on his arm and shoulder.

***

(5:48am)

"Cas, wake up."

"No."

"Yes, come on. I made you breakfast."

Cas pushed Dean away, stubbornly wanting more sleep. "I'll eat it when I wake up."

Dean laughed. He always laughed too loud in the mornings. "You have to hurry up and eat it now because I'm taking you somewhere right after."

Cas remained still, until he felt Dean's hands under the covers, forcefully attempting to tickle him. Cas was not that ticklish, to his own good fortune, but he was still awoken entirely. He rose up and blinked at Dean. "Do you think you're funny?"

"I think I'm adorable."

Cas noticed the tray in Dean's hands, which contained a stack of half-burnt pancakes, scrambled eggs, wheat toast, bacon and two glasses of orange juice. "Did you make all this?"

Dean nodded, excitedly. "I got the cook to let me use the kitchen. I sort of bribed him, but that's not important."

"Dean, you didn't have to go through all that trouble, especially not right now. The sun's not even up yet."

"Exactly. Hurry up and eat so we can go watch the sunrise."

Cas smiled, picking up a slice of toast. "Is that why you did all of this?"

"Yeah. Let's go see the Grand Canyon."

Cas laughed as Dean stuffed the food in his mouth. He attempted to do the same, although he didn't have time to enjoy his meal completely. Cas picked up his orange juice, holding it in his hands as he finished chewing the last of his breakfast.

"Chug it all down, baby," Dean said as Cas finished the entire drink down. "Alright let's go."

"I should put on some pants first," Cas suggested.

"Yes, absolutely. I don't plan on sharing your goodies with the rest of the world."

Cas rolled his eyes. "Dean."

"Cas, the sun is going to beat us if you don't get dressed."

"Oh please, I am much faster."

"Yeah, yeah, you can talk smack later when we get there."

***

(6:29am)

Cas watched the enormous beauty in front of his eyes, and in a far distance, the sun was barely rising.

"I gotta hand it to you, Cas, you were faster than the sun."

Cas turned to Dean to appreciate a bigger beauty instead. They both sat down on the ground, and watched the sunrise in peaceful silence.

A while later, Dean reached for his hand, and Cas held it tightly. Dean sighed deeply. "I will make you happy, Cas. I give you my word."

"I'm already at my happiest."

"Me, too."

Cas looked straight ahead, at the depths of the Grand Canyon. The immensity of such a beautiful occurrence of nature was outstanding.

"I feel like we can do whatever the hell we want and never look back," Dean said.

"Of course we can," Cas said, smiling at the sight of the rising sun.

"I am so fucking happy."

Cas felt a warmth rising inside his chest. "We could go to so many places. We could watch many sunrises like this one."

"This is a life worth living, right?" Dean said, squinting his eyes at the sun. "This is what every person strives for."

Cas turned to Dean again, picking up his hand and kissing the back of it, as Dean tended to do. "This is our life now."

Dean smiled. Cas thought could get used to this constant blissful state of being. And in the future, when he could find no way out of a hard situation, he'd always think back to this exact moment. This is what it all came down to. The wedding? That was just a temporary party made in order to celebrate with people who loved you. This? This was their life. Breakfast together and sunrises at the edge of the Grand Canyon was just an added bonus.

Cas was more than excited and ready to lead this life now.

 

 

_The End._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WEDDING PLAYLIST:
> 
> The Sea and The Rhythm - Iron and Wine
> 
> The Rain Song - Led Zeppelin
> 
> Vincent (Starry Starry Night) - Don McLean
> 
> Day Too Soon - Sia
> 
> Loving You - Elvis Presley
> 
> Not With Haste - Mumford and Sons
> 
> Kiss Me - Ed Sheeran
> 
> Angel - Jack Johnson
> 
> Hold You In My Arms - Ray LaMontagne
> 
> Make You Feel My Love - Adele
> 
> The Way I Am - Ingrid Michaelson
> 
> Don't Say A Word - Ellie Goulding
> 
> Banana Pancakes - Jack Johnson
> 
> Home - She and Him
> 
> Gotta Have You - The Weepies
> 
> I'll Be Your Baby Tonight - Bob Dylan
> 
> Tell The World - Olly Murs
> 
> Baby I Love You - The Ramones
> 
> Colors - Barcelona
> 
> Endlessly - The Cab
> 
> Calling You - Blue October
> 
> You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC


End file.
